ISRAEL: Free Trade Deal with United Arab Emirates Agreed

Israel has concluded negotiation a bilateral free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced by Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry and the UAE Foreign Trade Minister on 1 April 2022. The new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) covers trade in goods, including regulations and standards, trade in services, electronic trade and protection of intellectual property rights, customs, cooperation, maintaining trademarks and government procurement. The CEPA will apply to about 95% of goods traded between the two nations, covering agricultural, food and cosmetic products, as well as medical equipment and medicines, which will become free of customs tariffs, according to an Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. 

A UAE Ministry of the Economy statement said that the deal is expected to significantly lower or eliminate tariffs on various goods, boost market access for services, generate investment flows, as well as provide mechanisms to help small and medium enterprises to expand trade between the two nations. The CEPA will come into force after it is signed by both the Israeli and UAE economy ministers and ratified by the official legislatures.