Important step towards Middle East Free Trade
Area
WASHINGTON – U.S. Trade Representative
Robert B. Zoellick and Minister-Delegate of Foreign Affairs and
Cooperation Taib Fassi-Fihri today signed the U.S.-Morocco
Free Trade Agreement, an historic pact that will expand opportunities for the
workers, manufacturers, consumers, farmers, ranchers and service providers of
both Morocco and the
United
States. The agreement will also support the
economic and political reforms of a key Arab partner while marking an important
step towards President Bush’s vision of a Middle East Free Trade Area by
2013.
“Step by step, the
Administration is working to build bridges of free trade with economic and
social reformers in the Middle
East. Our plan offers trade and openness as
vital tools for leaders striving to build more open, optimistic, and tolerant
Islamic societies,” said Zoellick. “In
Morocco,
Jordan,
Bahrain, and elsewhere, we are laying
the building blocks that will lead to President Bush’s vision of a Middle East
Free Trade Area.”
The U.S.-Morocco FTA will
immediately eliminate tariffs on 95 percent of bilateral trade in consumer and
industrial products, with all remaining tariffs to be eliminated within nine
years – the best market access package of any
U.S. free trade agreement with a
developing country signed to date.
The agreement also significantly reduces barriers to
U.S. agricultural products and
services.
“Through free trade agreements we can embrace reforming states,
encouraging their transformation and bolstering their chances for success even
as we open new markets for American goods and services,” said Zoellick.
Ambassador Zoellick praised the skill and dedication of his Moroccan
counterpart as well as the Moroccan negotiators. “I would also like to thank the hard
working professionals from USTR and the many other
U.S. government
agencies that helped craft this U.S.-Morocco FTA,” Zoellick said. “I need to
single out chief
U.S. negotiator
Cathy Novelli, the skillful architect of this accomplishment as well as Chief
Agricultural Negotiator Al Johnson, without whom we would not have
succeeded.”
Zoellick noted
the importance of Congressional passage of Trade Promotion Authority in 2002,
and thanked business and farm leaders for their strong support. “I especially want to thank Congressmen
Phil English, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, John Tanner and Chris John for the vision
they have shown in advancing U.S. interests in a vibrant and reforming
Middle
East,” Zoellick
said.
Background:
Negotiations began in January
2003 and agreement was reached in March 2004. The draft text was made available to the
general public on April 2,
2004,
only one month after conclusion of the negotiations.
The signing of the final
agreement took place in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the U.S. Department of
State. Benjamin Franklin urged
Congress to pursue the first treaty between the
United
States and
Morocco, ratified in 1787, marking the
beginning of the longest unbroken treaty relationship in
U.S.
history.
Morocco is an emerging market at the
crossroads of Europe, Africa, and the
Middle
East
that imports $11 billion of goods each year. The
United
States currently exports an average
$475 million worth of products to Morocco each year. Leading exports include aircraft, corn,
and machinery. Recently,
U.S. exports of pharmaceuticals and
fabrics have also increased.
U.S. products entering
Morocco face an average tariff of over
20 percent, while Moroccan products are subject to an average tariff of 4
percent as they enter the United
States.
In
May 2003, the President announced his initiative to create a Middle East Free
Trade Area by 2013. The initiative
is designed to deepen U.S. trade relationships with all
countries of the region through steps tailored to individual countries’ level of
development. For some countries,
such as Saudi
Arabia,
Lebanon, and
Algeria, the initiative involves
working with them to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). In other cases, strengthening bilateral
trade ties as a step towards a future free trade agreement is appropriate
through a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The
United
States now has a network of TIFAs
with eight nations from Tunisia to
Yemen. The
United
States currently has free trade
agreements with Israel and
Jordan and has recently completed
negotiations with Bahrain.
