DUBAI, 9 December 2004 — A former UAE Cabinet minister says that no member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) should enter bilateral free trade agreements with the US and should instead adopt a GCC umbrella for joint negotiations with a view to reaping collective benefits.

Ahmad Humaid Al-Tayer, who served as minister of communications, cited the UAE as an example and said the country would not benefit from a bilateral free trade agreement with the US and should resist American pressure for amendments to legislation in the country. He said the UAE should not accept concessions demanded by the US as part of signing a free trade agreement and that the private sector should be involved in all negotiations on the issue since it involves economic polices, open markets and liberalization of trade.

In comments carried by Al-Khaleej Arabic daily, the UAE’s leading newspaper, Tayer said individual negotiations and bilateral agreements with the US would not benefit the GCC countries.

The ideal means of tackling the issue is through the GCC umbrella with a view to collectively benefiting from a free trade agreement with the US, he said.

The UAE is still in negotiations with the US and the next meeting is likely to be held in early 2005. According to Tayer, the talks were suspended when the US demanded the UAE meet certain conditions before signing the agreement. “The US demanded that the UAE amends its law” as part of conditions for a free trade agreement, he revealed. “This forms a threat to the UAE national economy and interests. The UAE shall do what is good for its national interests before going far in such negotiations,” said Tayer.

The US demands included the creation of trade unions, amendments to labor laws in compliance with international labor laws and review of the agency law as well as investment and sponsorship rules. Also demanded were amendments to the UAE Central Bank law. Other demands include one that said that American nationals be treated on a par with UAE nationals in terms of ownership and that banks and financial institutions should be allowed to enter the UAE sector. Tayer said that the UAE delegation to the talks with the US “was not qualified enough and had no experience in legal and negotiating matters.”

“The private sector should participate in these negotiations since the point is related to policies of national economy, trade liberalization and open markets,” said Tayer.

In general, he said, the UAE had always responded positively to American demands but it was often Washington which posed obstacles in the way of agreements.

Tayer revealed that the UAE had welcomed an American government suggestion for an investment agreement in the early 1990s, but a US Congressional panel opposed it because the UAE did not have trade unions. Similarly, the US voted down a UAE proposal for an agreement against dual taxation between the two countries, he said.