UAE, US hope for free trade deal by mid-year

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Free trade talks between the United Arab Emirates and the United States should resume at the end of April after a sudden delay this month, with a final deal seen by mid-year, UAE and US officials said on Monday.

Both sides have been working on a free-trade pact since March 2005 and had originally been scheduled to hold their fifth round of talks last week. But the negotiations were suddenly postponed after the collapse of a deal for a state-owned Dubai company to manage U.S. port terminals.

UAE Economy Minister Sheikha Lubna al-Qassimi said the delay in the talks was "absolutely not" related to the Dubai Ports World deal, which unraveled after U.S. lawmakers raised fierce security concerns.
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Trade between the United States and the UAE amounted to $10 billion in 2005, making it the third-largest U.S. trading partner in the Middle East behind Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The proposed trade deal is part of a broader U.S. effort to craft a regional free-trade zone in the Middle East by 2013. The United States already has free-trade pacts with Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Bahrain. Congress is expected to vote this year on an agreement with UAE's neighbor, Oman.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/20/AR2006032000985.html

blond virgins and they can give us oil in exchange. Great deal for the oil folks.

:sarcasm: thingie on my posts...

Not DUers, most of whom knew that was utter bullshit.

Most DUers also know the UAE helped finance al Qaeda and the 911 terrorists. And yeah, we knew that prior to February 2006.

Thanks.

And you?

It's the UAE + Bushco that's a bad combination.

period