ISDS Case Map
GCC
The EU has agreed to reduce import tariffs on aluminum and petrochemicals from the Gulf to zero in an attempt to conclude their FTA negotiations. In return, the EU wants the limit on foreigners owning majority stakes in Gulf companies ended.
The UAE is negotiating eight free-trade agreements with key economic blocks that will have an impact on trade worth Dh388 billion, according to 2005 figures, and cement the country's position as the economic hub of the Middle East.
Negotiations between European Union and GCC officials at ministerial level have been delayed until May, an EU source announced yesterday.
A final deal which is expected to be clinched during Mandelson's visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia from February 24.
South Korea is actively considering forging a free trade agreement with six Gulf nations, its top economic official said Wednesday.
Representatives of the Mercosur and the Gulf Cooperation Council met yesterday in Rio de Janeiro to discuss a free trade agreement between both blocs.
While US free trade initiatives in the Gulf appear to be faltering, Europe has stepped into the vacuum, launching a charm offensive that appeared to be on the brink of clinching a trade pact with a bloc of six energy-rich Arab states.
Japan is expecting to finalise a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by the end of 2007, according to a senior diplomat.
Bahrain and Pakistan have vowed to step up negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which could be signed before the end of the year.
The basic texts for the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Brazilian diplomats, are going to be ratified during the summit of the South American bloc, to take place on January 18th and 19th in Rio de Janeiro.
