U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue have announced that the government of Morocco has agreed to allow imports of U.S. beef and beef products into Morocco. This first-time access to Morocco comes under the terms of the U.S-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Morocco opened its market to U.S. poultry in August 2018.
In 2017, the United States was the world’s third largest beef exporter, with global sales of beef and beef products valued at $7.3 billion. As of November 2018, U.S. exports of agricultural products to Morocco exceeded $512 million. Initial estimates indicate that Morocco would be an $80 million market for U.S. beef and beef products.
Under the leadership of USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Amb. Gregg Doud and the direction of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Ken Isley, U.S. and Moroccan officials met to negotiate a health certificate and the terms for the import of U.S. high-quality and standard-quality beef into Morocco. Representatives also discussed improvements to the administration of Morocco’s wheat tariff-rate quota and other agriculture and SPS issues, and will continue this work through the agriculture and SPS subcommittees under the FTA.
More details on requirements for exporting to Morocco will be available from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service Export Library by clicking here.