Israel and the UAE Agree on a Milestone Free Trade Deal
After only a few months of talks, Israel and the UAE have agreed to sign a new treaty that will most likely boost bilateral trade. Come read our article to learn more about this agreement.
Israel and the UAE have signed a historic trade agreement. The agreement is part of the shifting political sands in the Middle East following the Abraham Accords.
The Israel-UAE Trade Deal
Bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE was worth approximately $675 million in the ten months after the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020. After this trade agreement, officials expect trade to increase rapidly between the two nations.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, the agreement would lead to 96 percent of goods traded between the two countries experiencing an immediate or gradual tax exemption. The agreement covers trade in food and other agricultural goods, cosmetics, medicines and medical equipment, and other sectors.
Both parties seem to have been keen on hashing out a deal, as it was only in June 2021 that they announced they started talks on a free trade deal. Getting it done in a matter of months is remarkably quick. The trade talks went through four rounds of negotiations, including a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the UAE's Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Egypt earlier in the year. The deal still needs ratification, and no timeline is available for when that will occur.
The Abraham Accords
The Abraham Accords were an initiative by former US President Donald Trump to restructure the Middle East. He successfully brought Arab nations to normalize ties with Israel despite their ongoing persecution of Palestinians. The Palestinians have felt betrayed and dismayed by the Arab countries that signed up for the Abraham Accords, including the UAE. They believe the accords undermine the decades-long consensus that refused to recognize Israel until Palestine gets back its territories using the 1967 borders.
The UAE was the first Gulf Arab state and the third Arab nation (after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994) to normalize ties with Israel. Bahrain and Sudan followed soon after with announcements of normalization. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia still demands Palestinian statehood but has toned down its rhetoric and expressed a desire to normalize relations with Israel.
Learn More with Export Portal
At Export Portal, we aren’t just a comprehensive trade platform for you to buy and sell global products on. We also know how important it is for our users to stay informed on the latest updates in international trade. Subscribe to our newsletter today to stay in the loop!
Comments 0