Moroccan Official: America Failed to Fulfill its Commitment to FTA with Morocco
By Mourad Anouar
Morocco News Tribune
Oklahoma, U.S.A | Abdelkader Amara, Moroccan Minister of Trade and Industry, announced that balance of trade in Morocco suffers a large deficit, blaming the U.S. for not living up to its commitments as they are outlined in the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, Moroccan newspaper Almassae reported.
The minister revealed that Morocco’s total imports from the U.S. $ 3.5 billion, while Moroccan exports did not exceed about U.S. $ 938 million, although the agreement was signed in 2006.
The Minister of Industry told Moroccan newspaper Almasae, on the sidelines of the meeting on school investment Souss-Massa-Draa (south of Morocco), that some of the actions taken by the administrative authorities of the United States of America did not help Moroccan exporters, especially in the agricultural field.
On the other hand, the minister took the opportunity to admit that the Morocco still needs to design a new and clear strategy to exploit the U.S. market, pointing out that the Moroccans are dealing with this market as one market while it is in fact it is multiple and different markets.
Mr. Amara stressed that we must study the market in order to know what the economic characteristics and identify which markets should be the focus, as well as taking into account the geographical side in the market that must be dealt with.
The Minister of Industry also points out that the language factor by mastering English is very instrumental in having easy access to the U.S. market without knowledge of the English language.
Since the entry into force of the FTA on January 1, 2006, the U.S. goods trade surplus with Morocco has risen to $1.8 billion in 2011, up from $79 million in 2005 (the year prior to entry into force). U.S. goods exports in 2011 were $2.8 billion, up 45 percent from the previous year. Corresponding U.S. imports from Morocco were $996 million, up 45 percent. Morocco is now the 55th largest export market for U.S. goods, according to the Office of United States Trade Representative.