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04Aug17


WTO reveals Qatar's complaints against UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia


The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday that Qatar has requested it dispute consultations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

The WTO revealed details of the complaints outlined from the Doha delegation.

Although Qatar filed its wide-ranging complaints at the WTO on Monday to challenge the trade boycott by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, the WTO had to allow relevant documents to circulate before formally announcing the procedure.

The three boycotting countries, along with Egypt, severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing the latter of financing terrorism and interfering in other countries' domestic affairs, which Doha has repeatedly denied.

The complaints relate to measures adopted by the three nations are restricting trade in goods and services, and trade-related intellectual property rights, the WTO said in a statement.

"The request for consultations formally initiates a dispute in the WTO," said the WTO statement.

Consultations allow the parties an opportunity to discuss the complaint and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation.

After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a WTO panel.

Qatar said in documents that the measures prohibit or restrict the import, export, sale, purchase, license, transfer, receipt and shipment of goods originating in, transiting through, to or from Qatar.

The documents said "the coercive attempts at economic isolation" entail acts and omissions through which the UAE bans Qatari nationals from travelling to and remaining in the UAE to provide services, as well as bans on the provision of services by Qatari service suppliers established in the UAE.

They include bans on the supply of (digital and other) services from Qatar to consumers of the UAE as well as prohibitions on nationals of the UAE to travel to and remain in Qatar in order to consume Qatari services.

"In respect of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, the coercive attempts at economic isolation entail interference with intellectual property rights enjoyed by nationals of Qatar," said the documents.

[Source: Xinhua, Geneva, 04Aug17]

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