WTO agrees to probe UAE’s complaint against Qatar on ban on Emirati Products

Geneva: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Wednesday agreed to look into the complaint filed by the UAE against the ban imposed by Qatar on Emirati products.

The WTO has decided to constitute an arbitration committee to investigate the UAE’s complaint.

The UAE had said that the Qatari ban on Emirati products is a violation of WTO rules and at odds with its obligations towards the global trade body.

The country said it was looking forward to working with the WTO arbitrators and contesting Qatar’s unilateral decision to ban UAE products, according to a statement on WAM.

The ban came in the wake of severing diplomatic relations with Qatar by the Arab Quartet due to the former’s support for terrorist and extremist outfits. Qatar partially withdrew the measures against UAE products just before the last session of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body, DSB, on April 27 this year, but the UAE contends that the previous decision of Qatar as well as some current measures went against its obligations to WTO.