Gulf lacks coordination on key issues in free trade talks
Gulf News | January 20, 2008
Gulf lacks coordination on key issues in free trade talks
By Ahmed A. Elewa, Staff Reporter
Abu Dhabi: GCC countries need to have a strong coordinated stance in the free trade talks with the European Union, top Arab officials demanded on Sunday.
Industry ministers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman agreed during the 11th GCC Industrialists Conference in the capital that Gulf countries need to streamline their efforts and overcome differences in many aspects if these negotiations are to yield a beneficial treaty.
"These negotiations have taken a very long time of more than 16 years, but they tended to be more serious after 2003," said Dr Mohammad Khalfan Bin Kharbash, UAE minister of state for finance and industry, who revealed that mutual exemptions from custom duties on petrochemical and aluminum products has already been agreed with the EU in the treaty’s framework.
"For the time being, the Europeans get the lion’s share out of any deal they break in the GCC, while we incur the losses and burdens, especially in the petrochemicals sector, where we find the Europeans placing many great obstacles under exaggerated notions, that we find them sometimes setting unjustifiable conditions, some that are impossible to meet," complained Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry.
"As soon as we get through with a set of conditions, the EU manages to come out with a new set that takes time to meet," he added.
"The problem is that the Europeans sometimes seek to include in the agreement issues that go beyond the framework of a technical economic agreement," said Hashim Bin Abdullah Yamani, Saudi minister of Commerce and Industry.
The conference’s discussions were focused on free trade agreements (FTAs) where participating industrialists inquired about the timeframe set for the pact with the EU, stirring up officials’ sentiment, as market access is a necessary requirement for the growth of the industrial sector in the region.
"There are problems resulting in this delay, where we find a decision needed from six countries in the GCC, and even a higher number from Europe.
"Nevertheless, GCC countries still lack coordination in many crucial issues, such as intellectual property, labour, and government spending," Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry said.
Officials agreed that the negotiations have taken a serious turn, especially after the admission of Saudi Arabia into the WTO.
