GCC News

[Jerry]

Kuwait denies Saudi charges of blocking flow of exports

7/1/2005,

Kuwait City: Kuwait's customs posts do not hinder goods coming from Saudi Arabia, a Kuwaiti official said.
"Saudi goods are cleared almost on the spot at the customs posts. Perishables are released immediately. Importers sometimes even leave the paperwork for later," said Ebrahim Al Ganem, Director-General of the Kuwaiti Customs Department.

Al Ganem's remarks came in a statement responding to Saudi accusations that Kuwait is deliberately dragging its feet when it comes to allowing Saudi products into the country. "Customs centres also [do not hinder] Saudi products headed for Iraq," he said....

Border posts in Kuwait still come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior because of security concerns....

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/BusinessNF.asp?ArticleID=146793

[Jerry]

Jan 7 2005

The GCC industrial investments nearly tripled over the past decade to exceed $100 billion (Dh367 billion) and the figure is set to sharply rise in the future, according to the Doha-based Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (GOIC).

Saudi Arabia is the biggest industrial power in the GCC, accounting for nearly 68 per cent of regional investment in this sector. The UAE was second, with more than 10 per cent of the investment, and more than 2,000 factories.

The investments covered mainly petrochemicals, cement, aluminium, paper, home appliances, furniture, machinery, equipment, spare parts and electrical products.

They do not include investment in gas projects, which have attracted over $30 billion (Dh110 billion), mainly in the UAE, Qatar and Oman....

Summarised as best as possible

[Jerry]

Saudis threaten Bahrain with tariffs

Saudi Arabia has warned Bahrain it will slap import duties on its goods if a Bahrain-US free trade pact takes effect....

Saudi Arabia's finance minister said on Monday his country would impose duties on foreign goods imported through Bahrain if the tiny Gulf kingdom put into effect a recently signed free trade agreement with the US....

The kingdom will return to imposing custom duties in trading with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) "which breach the bloc's common tariff," Ibrahim al-Assaf said, in reference to the agreement that would give US goods free access to Bahrain's market.....

"Foreign [non-GCC] goods coming through these countries will be taxed," he warned, quoted by the daily Al-Iqtisadiah....

"Bahrain's signing of a free trade deal with the US prompted accusations from Saudi Arabia that it was undermining the bloc's economic integration efforts.'...

'Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Abd Allah bin Abd al-Aziz stayed away from the 20-21 December GCC summit in Manama, delegating Defence Minister Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz to lead the Saudi delegation, to underline Riyadh's displeasure at the Bahraini-US deal....'

The summit failed to settle the dispute....

GCC taxation

"GCC members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched a customs union in January 2003, through which non-GCC goods are taxed once upon their first entry into a member state."...

"If the agreement goes into effect, it would result in an immediate lifting of duties on 100% of consumer and industrial products and 81% of US agricultural exports...."

The oil-rich bloc plans to establish a monetary union in the current year, a common market in 2007 and a single currency at the start of 2010....

[Jerry]

5/1/2005

Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia's opposition to free trade agreements between GCC states and the United States is unlikely to derail the GCC integration process, government officials and economists said.

"Saudi Arabia's stance will not have any negative impact on the GCC. We are all cousins and relatives, we are close to one another and we will always be close to each other," Mohammad Ali Al Abbar, Director-General of the Dubai Department of Economic Development...

"Since the FTA between Bahrain and the United States has already been signed, the best thing for Saudi Arabia to do now is to impose a five per cent duty on US goods re-exported from Bahrain. In future, the GCC must negotiate as a group, rather than on a bilateral basis,"...

As the FTA takes effect, all US products listed in the tariffs schedule will receive duty-free treatment from Bahrain, with a ten year phase-out period for additional tariffs on products not in the schedule. Bahrain's products will gain immediate access to the US market.....

"FTAs have a beneficial impact on export performance, as demonstrated by Jordan and some countries recently," said Daniel Hanna, international economist, Standard Chartered Bank.....

"Unilateral FTAs obviously raise questions about the GCC Customs Union and attention will now shift to the negotiations between the UAE and Oman with the United States."....