US-Qatar Trade Committee Meeting to be Held in Doha before Year-End

The US-Qatar Trade and Investment Committee (TIFA) meeting will be held in Doha before the year-end, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) said. The US-Qatar TIFA meeting will touch upon the US-Qatar Free Trade Agreement, the agreement on the promotion and protection of joint investments, the trade and food safety agreement, co-operation in the fields of intellectual property, customs co-operation, co-operation in the field of the World Trade Organization, co-operation related to small and medium-sized enterprises, and other areas of mutual interest.

High-level meetings and various events marked the participation of HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani in the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, which concluded in Washington DC recently. The minister’s activities aimed at promoting bilateral economic and trade co-operation, and highlighting Qatar’s remarkable economic success over the past period and its future prospects in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030. The minister also chaired a session on promoting Qatari-US bilateral trade and investment, and participated in a business lunch organized by the US-Qatar Business Council.

Sheikh Ahmed held bilateral meetings with Wilbur Ross, US Secretary of Commerce; Ambassador Anne Paterson, chairman, US-Qatar Business Council; Steven Mnuchin, US Secretary of Treasury and Dan Mullaney, Assistant United States Trade Representative. Discussions touched upon the promotion of economic, trade and investment bilateral ties, and the prospects of economic and trade co-operation.

The outcome of these meetings demonstrated the success of the economic, trade and investment aspects of the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, namely the session on the promotion of Qatari-US bilateral trade and investment, which was chaired by Sheikh Ahmed. The session brought together HE the Minister of Finance Ali Sherif al-Emadi and HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani, Qatar Investment Authority chief executive officer along with other government representative.

The US delegation included the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs and Assistant Secretary for Global Markets, along with representatives of the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Affairs, the Office of International Relations, the Office of Intellectual Property Rights, and the Commercial Law Development Program.

The US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue on economic and investment co-operation resulted in the signing of a number of agreements, memoranda of understanding and a letter of intent for co-operation in the fields of telecommunications, smart cities and combating human trafficking. Other agreements, including US-Qatari free trade and investment agreements, intellectual property, trade, and food safety, will be discussed during the meeting of the TIFA Committee in Doha.

Sheikh Ahmed said the US is Qatar’s sixth-largest trading partner, with a total of US$6bn worth of traded goods. He said the US is the top source of Qatari imports at 16% in 2017, adding that the trade balance registered a surplus of US$5bn dollars in favor of the US.

More than 505 joint Qatari-US firms and around 102 fully owned US companies are operating in Qatar, including 20 companies that operate in the field of gas and petroleum, while around 40 US companies are licensed under the umbrella of the Qatar Financial Centre.

Qatar’s success in promoting a diversified economy is evident in the country’s advanced ranking on several international indicators, the minister said, noting that Qatar ranks in second place globally in terms of providing a stable macroeconomic environment and in terms of tax impact on business, fourth globally in terms of government efficiency, eighth in terms of economic performance and 18th on the Global Competitiveness Index 2016 Report.