Arm wrestling between importers and customs at Guergarate

Bir Guendouz, the last commune before the Gargarate post, seat of the customs office closest to the border with Mauritania and sub-Saharan Africa, is a gateway for Morocco to its African extension. It is in this small town of 3,000 inhabitants that importers held several meetings with customs representatives to find common ground on the customs clearance procedures for the goods they import from Mauritania and sub-Saharan Africa (Mali, Senegal, etc.) Until 2013, the year of the arrival of the current head of the customs district in Dakhla, everything was going well, explains one of the importers who requested anonymity. He explains: "At the beginning of the 2000s, we were a few adventurers running the risk of trading with this region. We had small buses that we loaded in Casablanca and we sold the merchandise in Mauritania, Senegal or Mali. With the proceeds of these sales, we reloaded…