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GCC - EFTA
Free Trade Agreements
Summary
The Free Trade Agreement between the GCC and EFTA states – signed in Hamar, Norway on June 22, 2009 – consists of a total of 93 Articles and 16 annexes, and covers a broad range of areas including trade in goods, trade in services, government procurement, intellectual property rights, administration and dispute settlement and competition. The EFTA- GCC Joint Committee, established by the agreement, will supervise the implementation of the agreement which also provides a dispute settlement mechanism through arbitration. In addition, bilateral agreements on agricultural products between each of the three individual EFTA States and the GCC form an integral part of the agreement.
Source: MOEC
Key Fields
Competition
Each party commits on cooperation on matters relating to competition law enforcement and agrees to adopt or maintain competition laws with a view to avoiding such practices.
Trade in Goods
Establishment of bilateral agricultural agreements. Trade of industrial and agricultural products benefi ts of eliminating or reducing of customs duties for most products.
Trade in Services
It reduces the restrictions on market access. It ensures that each party will treat services supplier no less favorably than his domestic supplier in similar circumstances. It benefi ts professional services, environmental, construction, health, tourism, transportation, telecommunication and maritime services.
Establishment (Investment)
Both sides agree to include a side letter in the agreement that commit parties to start negotiation on non- services sectors (agriculture and industrial) no later than two years from the date the agreement enters into force.
E- Commerce
All parties are aiming to strengthen the exchange of information, cooperation and partnership in this fi eld and to follow the latest development of other countries in this sector.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
In the area of IPR, the parties essentially confi rm the WTO TRIPS Agreement.
Government Procurement
The free trade agreements between the GCC and FTA includes a chapter concerning government procurement with precise rules and principles that will address and allow the participation of Gulf companies in the governmental tenders in the EFTA States and vice versa.
Source: MOEC
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