After consulting with Congress in September 2004, USTR announced on November 15, 2004 the United States’ intent to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United Arab Emirates. Negotiations are ongoing and began in March 2005. An FTA with the UAE will build on existing FTAs in the region to promote the President’s Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) initiative to advance economic reforms and openness in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, and to establish a regional free trade area by 2013.

The successful conclusion of a comprehensive FTA will generate export opportunities for U.S. goods and service providers, solidify the UAE’s trade and investment liberalization, and strengthen intellectual property rights protections and enforcement.