afrol News, 31 January - Just two weeks ago, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Morocco completed its last hurdle - approval by the Moroccan legislature. Today, the Moroccan Ambassador to the US, Aziz Mekouar, leads a delegation to Houston (Texas, US) to meet with business and industry leaders to promote the agreement.

While in Houston, the Ambassador is meeting with local businesses to inform them about the details of the agreement and its potential benefits - including increased trade and investment opportunities, as well as job generation and closer ties between Houston and Morocco. In 2003, the exports of the US state of Texas to Morocco were the fifth-highest of any US state and had increased 12 percent from 2002.

- Houston is home to some of the United States' most successful and prominent businesses, said Moroccan Ambassador Mekouar. "I look forward to forging a closer relationship between this world-class city and Morocco's business centres. Today's meetings are a critical step to that end."

Ambassador Mekouar is making Houston his first stop in what the Moroccan-American Trade & Investment Council (MATIC) calls "an aggressive effort to encourage investment and increased trade." The tour, stopping in more than 10 US cities in the coming months, is sponsored and organised by the Council.

The Free Trade Agreement, deemed the "best market access package of any US free trade agreement with a developing country to date" by the Office of the US Trade Representative, eliminates tariffs on 95 percent of all bilateral trade between the US and Morocco. Because of Morocco's agreement with the European Union (EU), tariff reductions will also apply to US goods produced in Morocco and sold in Europe.

MATIC, which has charter members that include companies, trade associations and firms from both Morocco and the US, is set to sponsor and organise numerous activities across the US during the coming year to foster trans-Atlantic trade, the Council says in a statement released today. Several major US firms, including CMS Energy, Dell, Delphi, Oracle and Pfizer, had already "made significant investments in Morocco."

- Moroccan-US trade is poised for a significant boost with this agreement, said Ted Smith, a US economist working as MATIC's managing director. "Bilateral trade in goods and services exceeded more than US$ 1 billion in 2003, and there are few obstacles to double-digit growth every year this decade," according to Mr Smith.

Primary US exports to Morocco include aircraft, cereals and machinery, while Morocco ships foodstuffs, processed goods and textiles to the US market. Morocco is also a popular destination for US tourists and filmmakers. According to the Council, Morocco's "competitive textile industry, skilled workforce, and access to European, African, and Middle East markets" makes the country "a highly advantageous site for American companies."

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories