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US-UAE

The US is trying to secure a bilateral free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates as part of its drive to patch together an overall US-Middle East FTA by 2013.

Talks started in 2005, after the signature of a US-UAE Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in 2004, and were supposed to wrap up in 2006. However, the Dubai Ports World scandal that erupted in the US in 2006 put all this on ice and the process has not recovered since.

last update: May 2012

Photo: *_* / CC BY 2.0


US-UAE FTA on ice
Talks between the US and the UAE over a free trade agreement have been suspended after both parties failed to agree on how the Gulf state would open up its markets to US investors and banks. The FTA will now miss the March 31 deadline.
US, Emirates seen getting closer to free trade pact
Major sticking points still obstruct a deal, including Washington’s insistence on improvement of labourers’ rights and the country’s overall human rights record.
UAE/US free trade discussions limp on
Stop-start free trade talks between the UAE and the United States are making progress, according to the UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry. The Ministry did not comment on reports that the UAE’s record on human rights and the banning of labour unions are obstacles.
UAE weights price of trade pact with US
The United Arab Emirates is mulling whether to make political concessions to the United States in a free trade pact that has eluded both countries for nearly two years.
UAE free trade agreement with US at risk
Free trade negotiations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States is at risk of unraveling if an agreement can not be reached next month, UAE government officials said Monday. US oil and gas exploration and development companies stand to lose billions if the Bush administration cannot work it out in time.
US-UAE free trade deal in limbo
The Bush administration needs to wrap up a deal with the UAE by late March to get it through Congress before its "trade promotion authority" expires at the end of June.
Some hope for US-UAE trade deal
A free trade deal between the US and the UAE is still possible, even though talks fell off track last year, a US business leader said.
No political price for FTA, says UAE
The UAE is not willing to make any political concessions to secure a free trade agreement with the US, Prime Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper yesterday.
UAE to resist US pressure to open telecoms sector: minister
The United Arab Emirates will resist pressure in free trade talks with the United States to open its telecommunications sector to foreign investors.
No date set for next round of UAE-US free trade talks
The fifth round of free trade negotiations between the UAE and the United States ended in Abu Dhabi yesterday without agreement. The closely guarded negotiations, held amid a virtual media blackout, centred around two core issues: investment and labour laws.