ISDS Case Map
GCC
The much-awaited Free Trade Agreement between India and GCC appears to have hit yet another roadblock with the Indian Revenue Department opposing the inclusion of crude oil in the pact.
The six-nation GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) is fast becoming a regional trading bloc as more countries now want to forge free trade agreements (FTA) with it following its trade negotiations with China and India.
UK businesses are increasingly likely to lose out to the US on valuable Gulf export opportunities because it is taking so long for the EU to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the region's key states, says Trowers & Hamlins, the international law firm.
A first round of talks for a free trade agreement between New Zealand and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council opened Wednesday in the New Zealand capital, Trade Minister Phil Goff said.
"Negotiations will be completed by the yearend and the signing of the final agreement could be sometime early next year," the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain says.
Iran is planning to sign a free or preferential trade agreement with the member states of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council.
Call it the GCC effect. Apprehending stiff competition for the domestic petroleum industry - which has significant public sector presence - once India signs a free trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), the petroleum ministry has opposed inclusion of tariff cuts on petro products in the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) being negotiated with South Korea.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has emphasised the need to expedite the process of signing a free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), saying that the attractive demographics of Pakistan have created growing economic opportunities.
The visiting Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Mr Abdulrahman Hamad Al-Attiyah, met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday.
Ministers from India and Oman offered different views on the progress of free-trade talks between India and Gulf countries, although both officials yesterday said a deal was achievable.
