CAN GLOBALISM HELP THE MAGHREB?
One purpose of Ben Ali’s February visit to Washington seems to have been an attempt to boost American investment in Tunisia as well as increase trade between the two countries. Yet nothing concrete came out of the meeting with President Bush. Furthermore, past Tunisian efforts to attract investment by American businesses, which included opening business promotion offices in New York and Washington, had dismal, almost non-existent, results. Increasing trade, however, may be somewhat easier than attracting investment. Shortly after Ben Ali’s visit, Morocco and the US signed a free-trade agreement, which will eliminate tariffs on goods traded between the two countries. Congress must now approve the agreement, and if it does, current American tariffs on Moroccan goods (4%) and current Moroccan tariffs on US goods (20%) will disappear. During the past year, after getting “fast track” approval from Congress (which requires Congress to vote yea or nay on such agreements, with no amendments),
