Free trade agreement negotiation council holds its first meeting in Abu Dhabi

The aim was to prepare for the first round of negotiations with the US slated for next month in Abu Dhabi.

"The meeting comes in line with the recent cabinet's decision to form sub-teams that will represent sectors that would be subject to negotiation. The sub-teams have been formed, and their responsibilities have been outlined. They will work closely with both the public and private sectors to unify the UAE's position during the various rounds of negotiations with the US," said Dr. Kharbash.

The sub-teams represent intellectual property, customs, standards and metrology, services, agriculture, labour, market penetration, environment, textile, government procurement, telecommunications and e-Commerce, investment, and financial services such as banks and insurance.

The sub-teams have been assigned to different government departments with relevant expertise. The Ministry of Information and Culture will oversee the intellectual property team, the Federal Customs Authority will oversee the customs and market penetration teams, and standards and metrology will be overseen by the Emirates Standardization and Metrology Authority.

The Ministry of Economy and Planning will chair the services, textile, and financial services (insurance) teams, agriculture team will be chaired by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Ministry of labour and Social Affairs will chair the labour sector team. It has also been decided that the environment team will be chaired by the Federal Authority for Environment, the Ministry of Finance and Industry will oversee the government procurement and investment teams, telecommunication and e-Commerce will be represented by the Telecom Regulatory Authority, the Central Bank will chair the financial services team, and the legal affairs team will be handled by the Ministry of Justice.

"We also discussed other issues related to FTA such as the outcome of the first two rounds of talks of the UAE-US joint council which was formed after the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) was signed. We also discussed other FTA agreements sealed between the US and various Arab and other countries," added Dr. Kharbash.

The negotiation council which was approved last week includes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Industry, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Information and Culture, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Endowment and Islamic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transportation, the UAE Central Bank, Federal Customs Authority, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, Federal Authority of Environment, Abu Dhabi Department of Economy and Planning, Dubai Ports and Customs and Free Zone Corportation, Telecom Regulating Authority, Environmental Research & Wildlife Development Agency, and Tejari.com.

The free trade agreement with the US will grant the UAE access to the largest consuming market in the world which will not only encourage bilateral trade and economic relations, but will also impact positively on UAE production and exports.

The UAE cabinet ratified in April 2004 a UAE-US Trade and Investment Frame Work Agreement after it was signed in Washington in March 2004.