Tuesday, Jul 12, 2011
(This story was originally published Monday.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--The Gulf Cooperation Council would benefit from Jordan's free-trade agreement with the E.U. if the kingdom joined the six-member bloc, which has struggled to secure a similar agreement despite 15 years of negotiations, Dubai's Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Monday.
The chamber said, citing its latest study, that "membership of Jordan would add some potential benefits to the GCC, like its close association with the U.S. and European Union and free-trade agreements with major countries."
Jordan has signed a number of free-trade agreements with numerous countries and economic blocs, including with the U.S., the E.U., Turkey and Canada.
GCC states and the E.U. have struggled for over 15 years to reach an agreement on free trade between the two blocs, but limits on foreign investment in the Gulf and laws that prohibit Europeans from holding majority stakes in companies have stalled a deal.
The hydrocarbon-rich GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. The alliance in May invited Jordan and Morocco to become members and said it had initiated negotiations to complete all relevant procedures.
The Dubai chamber said Jordan's accession to the GCC would enable it to strengthen its economy, improve its trade deficit and boost foreign direct investment from Gulf countries, while GCC economies would benefit from increased tourism, the free flow of Jordan's skilled and educated workforce in addition to the potential benefits from existing FTAs.
Bilateral trade between the GCC and Jordan exceeded the $5 billion mark in 2010, according to the chamber. Jordan's largest GCC trading partner in 2010 was Saudi Arabia, with total trade surpassing $3 billion, followed by the U.A.E. at $700 million, the Dubai chamber said.
Gulf officials in April said the E.U. needed to step up efforts to conclude the long-planned FTA between the two groups, after failing to reach a compromise despite concessions from their bloc.
"We have to be clear about the reasons which hamper progress towards reaching the FTA agreement, and in our view, these reasons [do not] come from the GCC council's side, even the political reasons," Oman's foreign minister, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, said in a speech at a closed GCC-EU Joint Council meeting in Abu Dhabi at the time.
-By Leila Hatoum, Dow Jones Newswires; +971-4-446-1686; leila.hatoum@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-07-11 0423GMT
