Letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, Chairman, Senate Finance Committee Asking His support for the U.S-Morocco FTA

July 19, 2004

(Sent to Senate and House Leadership and Finance and Ways and Means Committee Members)

VIA FACSIMILE
(202) 228-0554

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley, Chairman
Senate Finance Committee
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1501

Dear Mr. Chairman:

The U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement is balanced and beneficial for U.S. agriculture. We urge you to support the U.S.-Morocco FTA and pass the agreement before the summer recess.

The Morocco FTA will allow U.S. agriculture the ability to maintain its current positive trade balance with Morocco as well as provide opportunities for increased U.S. agricultural sales. For example, U.S. access for beef and poultry to the Moroccan market was almost non-existent, but under this agreement new access will be allowed. The agreement could lead to $260 million in increased sales per year by 2015 while Morocco agricultural sales to the U.S. would increase by $25 million. Also important in the agreement is the preference clause and the sanitary/phytosanitary equivalency provisions. These two provisions will help maintain U.S. agriculture's competitiveness in the market as well as help to streamline and expedite U.S. sales.

Quick passage of the Morocco FTA is necessary to compensate for the marginal benefits to U.S. agriculture as a whole under the Australia FTA. We ask that you treat the Morocco FTA with the same urgency as you did the Australia FTA. The passage of the U.S.-Australia FTA demonstrated the cooperative efforts within Congress and with the Administration.

For these reasons, we urge you pass the U.S.-Morocco FTA before the August recess. The agreement is well balanced and passage will enhance U.S. agricultural trade this year.

Sincerely,