US names team to negotiate Free Trade Agreement with morocco

The US Trade Representative Department has named its negotiating team for the upcoming U.S.-Moroccan negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement, the US embassy announced in Rabat yesterday.

The team will be headed by Ms. Catherine Novelli, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East.

Most recently Ms. Novelli represented the United States as the lead negotiator for the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement.

Douglas Bell will serve as Negotiations Coordinator, and David Weller will act as legal adviser.

The department also named nine functional team leaders to conduct negotiations in specific areas. The team leaders will lead teams comprised of representatives from other agencies of the U.S. government, including the Departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, Labor, Interior, Justice and Agriculture, as well as representatives from the Customs Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Copyright Office and Patent and Trademark Office.

The team leaders were selected on the basis of their in-depth knowledge of their respective areas and their extensive experience working on trade negotiations. The team leaders are: Intellectual Property Rights -- Ms. Kira Alvarez; Trade and Services -- Ms. Cyndi Echeverria; Environment -- Ms. Jennifer Prescott; Tariffs -- Ms. Sara Sipkins; Agriculture -- Ms. Katie Nishiura; Labor -- William Clatanoff; Textiles -- David Spooner; Government Procurement -- Ms. Karissa Kovner; Customs -- Matt Rohde.

President George Bush and King Mohammed VI agreed April 23 to pursue a bilateral Free Trade Agreement. Since then, both sides have been preparing intently for the launch of formal negotiations, planned for early 2003.