FTA with Morocco to reinforce relations with longstanding partner, Bush
Morocco-USA, Politics, 7/17/2004

The United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement "enhances our bilateral relations with a longstanding partner in the North Africa and Middle East Region," said, Thursday, US president George W. Bush in a message to the Congress.

The deal, signed on June 15, will "benefit the people of the United States and Morocco, illustrating to other developing countries the advantages of open Markets," said the US president. Bush underlined that the agreement provides U.S. producers of several agricultural products with "increased access to Morocco's market, while complementing Morocco's agriculture reform program."

The FTA, informally approved by the US House of Representatives' Ways and Means committee and the Senate's financial committee, will open new opportunities to U.S. services firms and will enable US companies to participate in government procurement opportunities on the same basis as Moroccan firms, said the president.

Bush underscored that "this Agreement has some of the strongest intellectual property protections ever contained in a U.S. trade agreement with a developing country." The US-Morocco FTA will eliminate tariffs on 95% 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 US FTA with a developing country signed to date, according to the US Trade Representative. Reiterating calls to back the FTA with Morocco, the US president voiced confidence that the "approval of this Agreement will be another important step in implementing our plan for a broader Middle East Free Trade Area."

Bush highlighted in this connection Morocco's commitment toward a "reformist and tolerant vision that includes free parliamentary elections, the sale of state-owned businesses, the encouragement of foreign investment that can be connected to broad-based development, and better protection of the rights of women and workers." The FTA is expected to boost exchanges between the two countries which do not exceed 1 billion dollars in average.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco's King, US President Bush call for quick settlement of Sahara issue   (7/10/2004)
  US House likely to vote Morocco-US FTA this month, Representative   (7/9/2004)
  Bush praises King's efforts to consolidate democracy in Morocco   (7/9/2004)

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