U.S., Iraq ink trade and investment framework agreement

U.S., Iraq ink trade and investment framework agreement The Bush administration has made a trade and investment framework agreement with the Iraqi government.
   The agreement was signed by Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Ashley Wills and Iraq’s Minister of Finance Ali Abdulameer Allawi during a July 11 meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Joint Commission on Reconstruction and Economic Development.
   “Iraq is making a major effort to reintegrate into the international economy,” Wills said in a statement. “We believe that the U.S.-Iraq TIFA (Trade and Investment Framework Agreement) will enhance trade between our two countries and assist Iraq as it seeks to grow and diversify its economy.”
   The TIFA provides a forum for Iraq and the United States to examine ways to expand bilateral trade and investment. It creates a joint council that will consider a wide range of commercial issues and sets out basic principles underlying the two countries’ trade and investment relationship.
   According to the USTR, in 2004 the United States exported $856.5 million of goods to Iraq. Imports from Iraq last year were valued at $8.5 billion, consisting mainly of petroleum.