The United States-Morocco free trade agreement (MAFTA) reflects a strong partnership that can serve as a catalyst for growth and economic inclusion in Africa, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy wrote.
Thanks to this agreement concluded in 2004, total bilateral trade has more than quadrupled between 2006 and 2023, the Institute noted in a piece by Sabina Henneberg, adding that the MAFTA has served political and strategic relations between the two countries, in addition to economic ones.
The American Think Tank underlined that the Biden administration has maintained the Trump administration’s 2020 decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its Southern Provinces.
Expressing confidence that regardless of who wins the US presidential election in November, the next administration will uphold this decision, Henneberg underlined the international dynamism about the Moroccan Sahara issue, citing the recent decision by France to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over this territory.
The piece recalls that Morocco remains “one of only a handful of countries with such a (free-trade) agreement, and the only one in Africa”, adding that the North African country has positioned itself well to “facilitate and benefit from economic growth and investment in Africa.”
Henneberg went on to underline that thanks to bilateral trade agreements with numerous African partners and signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, the kingdom “is now one of the leading African countries in terms of Foreign direct investment inflows.”
“To the extent the United States is interested in promoting economic growth and trade with Africa (…) investing in Morocco is one way to go,” the Washington Institute for Near East Policy recommended.
Internally, the Institute points to “significant economic growth over the past two decades” in Morocco, as well as multi-sector reforms, including the updated investment charter, key infrastructure projects such as a high-speed rail line and the “massive” Tangier-Med port, which “played more of a role in enhancing its stature as a ‘nearshoring’ destination”.
Going forward, the Washington Institute concluded, the U.S. should use trade to support Morocco’s economic growth by focusing on industries which can help generate new jobs.
