Fez – David Greene, the Charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Morocco, commemorated on November 16 the 15th anniversary of the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by visiting a Kantari Group citrus packaging plant in the city of Berkane, northeastern Morocco.
The visit came as the facility was getting ready to send the first shipment of clementines and oranges to the US for the season. The Kantari Group is one of the region’s top citrus farmers and exporters, contributing to Morocco’s 45,000 tons of annual citrus exports to the US. .
Recalling that “Morocco is the only country in Africa to have a free trade agreement with the US,” Greene argued that both the US and Morocco “ have benefited greatly” from their FTA.
Since 2005, a year before the US-Morocco FTA was enacted, trade between the two countries has increased by more than fivefold. The deal, which was signed in 2004 and entered into force on January 1, 2006, is designed to boost trade and investment between the two countries.
The FTA paved the way for Morocco to stretch its participation in the global supply chains, even in advanced and complex sectors like aerospace and automotive industries.
“The FTA has ushered in significant US investment to Morocco,” said Greene, noting that the development of Morocco’s industrial sectors as part of the improvement of US-Morocco relations has “led to thousands of well-paying jobs for Moroccans.”
The US diplomat recalled that there are around 150 US companies operating in Morocco now.
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While industrial sectors witnessed a boost in the period post-FTA, the agreement enabled Morocco’s agricultural sector to find new markets in the US, Greene explained. Hundreds of US and Moroccan businesses profit from the FTA, including Kantari.
“Thanks to the free trade agreement, the US is a critically important market for our citrus fruit,” said Kamal Kantari, Kantari Group’s CEO. He encouraged other Moroccan businesses “to take advantage of the FTA and consider exporting to the United States.”
In 2005, bilateral goods trade between the two countries was $925 million (MAD 8.2 billion), but by 2019, it had increased to $5 billion (MAD 44.1 billion).
Trading in goods and services between the US and Morocco reached around $6.6 billion (MAD 58.2 billion) in 2019. According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, US exports to Morocco totaled $4.3 billion (MAD 20.3 billion) and imports totaled $2.3 billion (MAD 20.3 billion). Morocco is now ranked as the 63rd largest goods trading partner for the US.
The US Embassy in Rabat will be posting videos on its social media platforms between now and the end of the year to spotlight Moroccan and US businesses that have profited from the FTA.
