LegiStorm

Summary:

Successive U.S. Administrations have viewed Morocco as an important regional ally, a partner in counterterrorism, and a free trade counterpart. Morocco receives substantial U.S. development aid, and bilateral trade and investment have increased following a 2006 Free Trade Agreement. Morocco also benefits from U.S. security assistance and military cooperation, and is a purchaser of U.S. defense articles, including F-16 jets. Some observers have placed greater emphasis on the U.S.-Morocco relationship amid regional turmoil and terrorist threats emanating from neighboring states in North Africa and the nearby Sahel region of West Africa. The United States and Morocco initiated a Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in 2012, and King Mohammed VI undertook an official state visit to Washington, DC, in November 2013, his first since 2004. King Mohammed VI, who inherited the throne in 1999, retains supreme political power in Morocco but has taken some liberalizing steps. In 2011, amid popular demonstrations that echoed unrest elsewhere in the region, the king backed a new constitution that was then adopted by referendum. Provisions in the new constitution could strengthen the legislature, judiciary, and local-level government, if fully implemented. It nonetheless preserves the king's role as the arbiter of political decision-making, head of the military, and the country's highest religious authority. Legislative elections held in 2011, the first under the new constitution, brought an Islamist political party, the Justice and Development Party (PJD), to power for the first time. The PJD has sought to bolster the power of elected officials and to institute economic and governance reforms. However, the party has faced challenges in transitioning from an outsider opposition role to the day-to-day responsibility of policymaking. It has also struggled to overcome tensions with pro-palace elites, as well as with nominal allies. Public protests have dwindled since their peak in 2011, but sporadic demonstrations continue over economic and social grievances, while some Moroccans continue to call for deeper political changes. With regard to the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which Morocco considers an integral part of its sovereign territory, the United States has recognized neither Morocco's claim to the region, nor the self-declared independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), which is backed and hosted by Algeria. U.S. policy over the past decade has been to support U.N.-facilitated negotiations over the territory's final status. Congressional views of the Western Sahara issue have been stated in foreign aid appropriations legislation. Most recently, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235, Division J, section 7041[g][1]) states that funds appropriated for foreign bilateral economic assistance "shall be made available for assistance for the Western Sahara." It has been the policy of successive Administrations that funds appropriated for bilateral aid for Morocco may not be programmed in Western Sahara, as doing so could represent a tacit acknowledgment of Moroccan sovereignty. The executive branch interpretation of the FY2015 provision, and its implications, remain to be seen. Morocco's foreign policy focuses on its Western partners (especially France, Spain, the European Union, and the United States); the Middle East; and francophone Africa. The Moroccan military has reportedly participated in U.S.-led operations to counter the Islamic State organization in Syria. Neighboring Algeria is a regional rival and supports independence for Western Sahara. Friction over the Western Sahara issue has stymied Moroccan-Algerian relations, Moroccan relations with the African Union (Morocco withdrew in 1984 over recognition of the SADR), and regional economic and security cooperation. See also CRS Report RS20962, Western Sahara.