Bahraini Spirit
April 23rd, 2005, 02:28 PM
Hi, well Saudi Arabia might finally see the light to join the WTO, enjoy:
The US is close to reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia on tariff cuts that the kingdom needs to make to join the World Trade Organisation, a top US trade official said in a letter obtained on Friday.
"We are close to finalizing our agreement on tariffs with Saudi Arabia, and we are increasingly more comfortable that the multilateral issues will be addressed satisfactorily," acting US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said in the letter to Senator Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat.
President George W Bush will host Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his ranch in Crawford, Texas on Monday.
Saudi Arabia is the leading member of Opec and one of relatively few countries still not a member of the WTO.
In the lead-up to meeting on Monday, US and Saudi trade negotiators have been working around the clock to try to finalise a bilateral deal on the terms of Riyadh's entry into the WTO, an industry official said.
"I think they would like to be able to make an announcement in Crawford. But whether or not they are going to narrow the final gap by then is really up in the air," the industry official said.
One potential snag is a human rights issue that Lincoln raised on Thursday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Rep Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, to be the next US trade representative.
Portman, who could be confirmed next week by the Senate, promised to look into the case.
The US has a lot of interests at stake in the WTO negotiations with Saudi Arabia and "one of our interests ought to be human rights," Portman said.
Meanwhile, Omani Commerce and Industry Minister Makboul bin Ali bin Sultan said the US and Saudi Arabia appeared close to a bilateral deal.
"From my discussions with the people here in Washington, I think they will finish and reach an agreement soon," Bin Sultan said, adding he did not know if that would happen by Monday.
To gain entry into the WTO, Saudi Arabia must negotiate a bilateral market access deal with any of the 148 WTO members that requests one. It also must negotiate a multilateral agreement with all WTO members to bring its trade regime into line with international rules.
The US is the only WTO member that has not finished a bilateral deal with Saudi Arabia, Allgeier said.
"There is still work remaining, particularly in services, but I remain hopeful that the accession process will reinforce reforms that are now underway in the Kingdom," he said.
A bilateral deal with the US would "pave the way for Saudi Arabia to sign the WTO (entry) agreement in Hong Kong at the end of the year," Bin Sultan said, referring to the WTO's upcoming ministerial meeting in December.
The US is close to reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia on tariff cuts that the kingdom needs to make to join the World Trade Organisation, a top US trade official said in a letter obtained on Friday.
"We are close to finalizing our agreement on tariffs with Saudi Arabia, and we are increasingly more comfortable that the multilateral issues will be addressed satisfactorily," acting US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said in the letter to Senator Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat.
President George W Bush will host Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his ranch in Crawford, Texas on Monday.
Saudi Arabia is the leading member of Opec and one of relatively few countries still not a member of the WTO.
In the lead-up to meeting on Monday, US and Saudi trade negotiators have been working around the clock to try to finalise a bilateral deal on the terms of Riyadh's entry into the WTO, an industry official said.
"I think they would like to be able to make an announcement in Crawford. But whether or not they are going to narrow the final gap by then is really up in the air," the industry official said.
One potential snag is a human rights issue that Lincoln raised on Thursday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Rep Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, to be the next US trade representative.
Portman, who could be confirmed next week by the Senate, promised to look into the case.
The US has a lot of interests at stake in the WTO negotiations with Saudi Arabia and "one of our interests ought to be human rights," Portman said.
Meanwhile, Omani Commerce and Industry Minister Makboul bin Ali bin Sultan said the US and Saudi Arabia appeared close to a bilateral deal.
"From my discussions with the people here in Washington, I think they will finish and reach an agreement soon," Bin Sultan said, adding he did not know if that would happen by Monday.
To gain entry into the WTO, Saudi Arabia must negotiate a bilateral market access deal with any of the 148 WTO members that requests one. It also must negotiate a multilateral agreement with all WTO members to bring its trade regime into line with international rules.
The US is the only WTO member that has not finished a bilateral deal with Saudi Arabia, Allgeier said.
"There is still work remaining, particularly in services, but I remain hopeful that the accession process will reinforce reforms that are now underway in the Kingdom," he said.
A bilateral deal with the US would "pave the way for Saudi Arabia to sign the WTO (entry) agreement in Hong Kong at the end of the year," Bin Sultan said, referring to the WTO's upcoming ministerial meeting in December.