Israel–United States Free Trade Agreement
The United States–Israel States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a
The U.S.–Israel FTA was the first such free trade agreement entered into by the United States.
History
Negotiations for the pact began January 1, 1984, and concluded February 1, 1985. The pact was signed on April 22, 1985.
On January 1, 1995, all products produced in Israel that were eligible for reduced duty under the agreement became duty-free.[1][4]
Israel-United States bilateral economic relationship
The FTA between Israel and the United States was signed to set an example to the rest of the world to move forward with trade liberalization. The United States goals were to create bilateral economic relations with Israel beyond military support, reduce Israel's dependence on US assistance, and strengthen the Israeli economy. Israel’s goals of the FTA were to secure a large trading market outside of the Arab boycotting region due to political conflicts, build trade with higher income countries to reduce debt, and to strengthen ties between the United States beyond economic means.[5]
Under the bilateral economic relationship, the United States is Israel’s largest trading partner and Israel is the United States's 24th largest trading partner. With an $8 billion U.S. goods trade deficit in 2014, the United States' total goods imported were $23 billion and total goods exported were $15 billion.[6] The top United States-Israel imports and exports are precious stones/diamonds, machinery, pharmaceutical products, medical investments[clarification needed], and agriculture products. United States leading imports from Israel in 2014 were $9.4 billion in diamonds and $4.6 billion in pharmaceuticals. Machinery, electric machinery, and optic/medical instruments imports were all around $1.5 billion in 2014.[7]
References
- ^ a b Importers Manual USA: The Single Source Reference Encyclopedia for Importing to the United States. World Trade Press. 2003. p. 234.
- ^ "Israel Free Trade Agreement". Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
- ^ "International Copyright Relations of the United States (Circulation 38A)" (PDF). United States Copyright Office. January 2014.
- ^ Overview and Compilation Of U.S. Trade Statutes, Parts I And II, 2010. Government Printing Office. 2010. p. 327.
- ^ "Free Trade Agreements: US Strategies and Priorities | Peterson Institute for International Economics". bookstore.piie.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
- ^ "Israel Free Trade Agreement | United States Trade Representative". ustr.gov. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
- ^ "Israel". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2016-12-09.