Free Trade Agreements Qatar

Sustainable development is a priority in the government`s trade and investment strategy. The Investment Act requires public authorities, when approving majority foreign ownership of a project, to ensure that it adapts to the broader development plans of the state, as led by Qatari National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030), which aims to increase economic diversification, stimulate non-oil growth, improve the value of the hydrocarbon sector and develop human capital. In a 2014 report on the investment climate, the U.S. State Department found that Qatar prioritized foreign investment in projects using local raw materials, manufacturing export products, creating new products, using innovative technologies, supporting knowledge transfer and improving human resources. In the construction sector, in line with Qatar`s diversification and development priorities in QNV 2030, large-scale contracts are generally awarded to joint ventures between foreign and local companies. FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS: Qatar has made considerable progress in recent years in signing and adhering to new free trade agreements. In July 2014, there was talk of the possibility of creating a common free trade area with Iran, while Qatari officials also met with the Turkish Ministry of Finance to discuss a possible free trade agreement in February of that year. BILATERAL COMMERCE: According to the EC, six of Qatar`s top ten trading partners are East Asian countries, led by Japan (1st) and South Korea (2nd), with India, China and Singapore in fourth, fifth and sixth place and Thailand in eighth place. The EU is Qatar`s third largest trading partner, followed by the United States (7th), the United Arab Emirates (9th) and Saudi Arabia (10th). In recent years, Asian countries have seen many new investments and trade agreements with Qatar. Cumulative trade with Japan and South Korea reached 45.65 billion euros in 2013, according to EC figures. Japan alone negotiated about 26.9 billion euros with Qatar in 2013, representing 22.7% of the state`s total trade volume and being Qatar`s main export destination.

As in other East Asian countries, trade between Japan and Qatar increased as a result of Qatar`s oil and gas exports, with merchandise exports to Japan amounting to EUR 25.79 billion in 2013, compared to EUR 1.1 billion for imports from Japan. Further changes were made in 2009, when the Council of Ministers agreed on the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, which oversee domestic trade and investment activities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Qatar Investment Promotion Department and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry. These amendments allow foreign investors to hold 100% of the shares in certain service sectors, including corporate consulting, ICT, culture, sport, entertainment and distribution. Qatar`s science and technology park, a free zone, was inaugurated in 2009 and offers foreign investors exemptions from taxes, tariffs and catarrification quotas (see analysis). However, some sectors remain closed to competition both abroad and domestic competition, including public transport, utilities, steel, cement, fuel distribution and marketing. The 2014 changes are part of reforms to expand the state`s stock market – the second largest in the GCC after Saudi Arabia, with a capitalization of $187 billion as of February 2015.