FTA negotiations with Morocco expected to be over by end of 2003, Zoellick
Morocco-USA, Economics, 9/15/2003

Moroccan-US negotiations over the Free Trade Agreement are expected to be over before the end of 2003, said the US Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Zoellick, in a fact sheet issued on the occasion of the World Trade Organization talks in Cancun, Mexico.

The document underlines the importance of the FTA that will open new perspectives to the consolidation of economic and trade relations between the two countries.

The FTA will be the capstone of US-Moroccan efforts, complementing the existing Bilateral Investment Treaty, the bilateral agreement "Open Skies," and Trade and Investment Framework Agreements, says the fact sheet, adding that the agreement will increase exchanges between Morocco and the USA given the important opportunities it will offer in the sectors of energy, tourism and environment.

The agreement, the USTR went on, will contribute to the liberalization of services, the consolidation of investment and the promotion of the protection of intellectual property rights, labor and environment,.

The fact sheet underlined that the FTA will be an important first step to promote trade expansion and economic reforms in North Africa and the Middle East leading to a Middle East Free Trade Area within a decade, recalling the comprehensive economic reform program launched by Morocco to reduce inflation, develop the tourism sector, liberalize telecommunications and other key sectors, and improve the business climate for foreign investment.

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