Since launching this NFTC co-founded coalition on October 7, 2004 at an event with Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick, then U.S. Trade Representative (now Deputy Secretary of State), and with Ambassadors to the United States from the Middle East region, the coalition has made tremendous progress in strengthening economic and trade ties between the United States and the Middle East region and in building support for the Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) initiative.
The coalition, and its antecedents the U.S.-Morocco FTA Coalition and the U.S.-Bahrain FTA Coalition, have helped to achieve a bipartisan vote in favor of the U.S.-Morocco FTA; to build similar bipartisan support for the U.S.-Bahrain FTA; to launch FTA negotiations with Oman and United Arab Emirates, with the former having just concluded a commercially meaningful FTA; and to keep momentum strong for economic reforms necessary for WTO accession by Saudi Arabia and the launch of FTA negotiations with other economies in the region, particularly Egypt.
To join the coalition or to learn more about becoming a member of the steering committee, email Chuck Dittrich at cdittrich@nftc.org
