"We’re pleased that the Moroccan government has taken the final steps in
completing its internal process to implement the free trade agreement and that
we are on schedule to have this agreement enter into force on January 1,
2006.
"This agreement will expand markets for American farmers, ranchers and
businesses and provide greater choices for consumers. This agreement will also
strengthen our trading relationship with the Middle East and brings us one step
closer to achieving the President’s goal of a US-Middle East Free Trade Area
(MEFTA)."
Background
Negotiations on a US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement began in January 2003 and
ended in March 2004. The Agreement passed the U.S. House of Representatives and
the Senate in July and was signed by President Bush in August 2004
U.S. Trade Agenda
The United States is aggressively working to open markets globally,
regionally, and bilaterally and to expand American opportunities in overseas
markets. The Bush Administration has completed FTAs with 13 countries – Chile,
Singapore, Australia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Morocco, Bahrain, Oman and Peru. Negotiations
are under way with ten more countries: Colombia, Ecuador, the United Arab
Emirates, Panama, Thailand, and the five nations of the Southern African Customs
Union (SACU). New and pending FTA partners, taken together, would constitute
America’s third largest export market and the sixth largest economy in the
world.
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