Sit-in calls on Parliament not to pass Morocco-USA FTA

A sit-in was staged Wednesday evening outside the Parliament in Rabat by activists opposed to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed last June between Morocco and the United States.

Some 100 Participants in this sit-in urged the parliament not to pass this accord "in its current form."

Abdelhamid Amin, chairman of the "National Coalition Against the Free trade Accord with the United States" criticized the content of the agreement which he deemed "negative."

"This agreement was concluded between Morocco which has a fragile economy, and the United States, the first superpower in the world," Amin told MAP adding the FTA will have a negative impact on Morocco in the social, economic and cultural realms.

More sit-ins are to be staged by the coalition to protest this agreement despite the awareness and information campaigns launched by the Government to defend the accord, as did Communication Minister and Government's spokesman Nabil Abdallah who emphasized that Rabat did its best to defend the country's interests during negotiations on this agreement.

Asked about sit-ins to be staged by those who oppose the Morocco-US FTA, Benabdellah said the government is open to all parties, particularly "those expressing some reservations concerning the accord." The government, he said, has presented all guarantees through meetings broadcast on Radio and TV and direct encounters with the concerned parties, proving that the agreement represents no threat to the economic, cultural and social realms. He recalled that the accord will be submitted to parliament which, he said, would provide the opportunity to deepen debate on its different provisions, notably with those who express reservations about it. The Moroccan-US FTA, signed after 7 rounds of negotiations, will immediately eliminate tariffs on more than 95 percent of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products. All remaining tariffs on these goods are to be eliminated within nine years.