Rabat — US Ambassador to Morocco Richard Duke Buchan held a meeting with Minister of Industry Ryad Mezzour on Monday.
The ambassador announced the news on X, stating the meeting served as a platform to discuss partnerships to deepen economic ties between Rabat and Washington.
“Building on 250 years of friendship, Morocco offers boundless opportunities for U.S. firms looking to invest and ensure Morocco and the United States share in a more prosperous future,” the ambassador wrote.
Beyond strong bilateral ties, Morocco and the US also share good economic partnerships, strengthened through the Free Trade Agreement, implemented since 2006 between Rabat and Washington.
According to the State Department’s 2022 Investment Climate Statements on Morocco, Rabat ratified 72 investment treaties with global partners, including the US, to promote and protect investments as well as 62 economic agreements.
The agreements aim to eliminate the double taxation of income or gains.
“Morocco is the only country on the African continent with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, eliminating tariffs on more than 95 percent of quality consumer and industrial goods,” the report said.
The report recalled Morocco’s plans to phase out tariffs on some products through 2030, pledging the FTA’s support for Morocco’s goals to develop a regional financial and trade hub.
It further recalled Morocco’s facilities seeking to encourage foreign investments, particularly in export sectors like the automotive, aeronautics, textile, pharmaceuticals, outsourcing, and agro-food.
The State Department also highlighted Morocco’s appealing sectors, attracting the ninth-most foreign direct investment in Africa in 2020.
“Peaking in 2018 when Morocco attracted $3.6 billion in FDI, inbound FDI dropped by 55 percent to $1.7 billion in 2019 and remained largely unchanged at $1.7 billion in 2020,” the report says.
Manufacturing sectors attract the highest share of FDI stocks. The report additionally recalled
Morocco’s position as the gateway to Africa and Europe.
