The United States Identity Preserved Alliance (USIP Alliance) is leading a multi-state delegation of agriculture industry leaders on a St. Lawrence Seaway Trade Revitalization Mission Aug. 30-Sept. 4 to facilitate and promote two-way trade between Morocco, Portugal and U.S. agriculture.

USIP Alliance staff leads will be joined by a pair of directors from the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (Paul Freeman and Ron Obermoller); Wisconsin and Ohio farmers; officials from Minnesota and Wisconsin’s departments of agriculture; and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. During the Moroccan portion, the group will host a seminar and tour the Casablanca and Tanger Med ports.

Agriculture contributes almost 15% of Morocco’s GDP. Agriculture, fishing and forestry combined to employ nearly half of the country’s workforce. Morocco is a net importer of agricultural and related products, including feed grains, pulses, rice, animal genetics, poultry, beef and dairy products, and soybeans. In Marketing Year 2024/2025, Morocco was the 10th largest market for U.S. soybean meal, valued at $180 million.

The United States and Morocco have had a free trade agreement since 2006. Morocco is the only African country with a U.S. FTA, making it an ideal location for discussions about agricultural trade, logistics, value-added processing and access to African, European and Middle Eastern markets.

In Portugal, the group will host seminars with shipping and logistic companies, traders and buyers, along with visiting ports in Lisbon and Leixões. As part of the seminar, farmers will give backgrounds on their farms and how their sustainability practices help raise high-quality crops; the Great Lakes as a direct connection to northern-grown crops and their advantages; the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway (SLS) Development Corporation will speak about SLS system advantages, capabilities and infrastructure investments. The state departments of agriculture will highlight export development resources, market support and give a broad overview of ag products available from the Upper Midwest.

Portugal is a stable European market with a population of nearly 11 million. The United States is Portugal’s largest non-EU trading partner and fourth-largest export market. U.S. exports to Portugal in 2024 included oil and gas, transportation equipment, chemicals, and computer/electronic products and agricultural products. The U.S. exports about $330 million in ag products to Portugal, including $71 million in whole soybeans.

Throughout the trade mission, the U.S. delegation and Moroccan and Portugal trade leaders will discuss:

• Bulk agricultural commodities and pulses;
• Port, rail and inland logistics connectivity;
• Maritime logistics
• Agricultural supply chains and infrastructure;
• Food processing, storage and distribution;
• Water security, irrigation and desalination;
• Renewable energy, green hydrogen and infrastructure;
• Trade facilitation and supply-chain resilience.