The United States and Morocco signed an FTA on June 15, 2004. The agreement came into force on January 1, 2006. The U.S.-Morocco FTA is a comprehensive agreement that supports the important economic and political reforms underway in Morocco, and provides for enhanced trade opportunities for U.S. exports to Morocco by reducing and eliminating trade barriers. Since the FTA came into effect, the U.S. trade surplus with Morocco has grown to $1.8 billion in 2011, up from $79 million in 2005 (the year before the agreement came into effect). U.S. merchandise exports in 2011 totaled $2.8 billion, up 45% on the previous year. Corresponding US imports from Morocco totaled $996 million, up 45%. Morocco is now the 55th largest export market for US products. The Joint Committee established by the FTA held its third meeting in December 2012. At the meeting, the US and Morocco announced agreement on three new initiatives: an agreement on trade facilitation, joint principles for international investment and joint principles for information and communication technologies ( ICT). U.S. and Moroccan experts discussed FTA implementation issues, including technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, and technical assistance to support implementation of the FTA’s labor and environmental provisions. The two sides also discussed the next steps in the implementation of the 2011 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Morocco joined the United States in signing ACTA, an agreement that will raise the standard of intellectual property rights enforcement internationally. The FTA’s subcommittees on agricultural trade and sanitary and phytosanitary issues also met in September 2012 and discussed Morocco’s implementation of the tariff quotas established under the FTA to grant US wheat producers preferential access to the Moroccan market. The United States continues to have serious concerns about Morocco’s administration of these tariff quotas.