Israel–United States Free Trade Agreement

The United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement is a trade pact between the State of Israel and the United States of America established in 1985 that lowers some barriers to trade in some goods.

History of Trade Agreement

Negotiations for the pact began January 1, 1984 and concluded February 1, 1985. The pact was signed on April 22, 1985. Implementing legislation was introduced into the U.S. Congress on April 29 of that year by Rep. James C. Wright, Jr. (D-Texas); it was ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 7 by a 422-0 vote, and by the U.S. Senate on May 23 by a voice vote. The pact was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on June 11, and implemented on September 1.

References

• Declassified FBI file investigating espionage and theft of government property during trade negotiations. The FBI targeted the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Israeli embassy.
• International Trade Commission public file of US-Israel Free Trade Area negotiation documents.
• USTR Site on US-Israel FTA
• Quantitative Analysis of the US-Israel FTA
• [1] Petition under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 for Suspension of the US-Israel Free Trade Area

References

• USTR Site on US-Israel FTA