‘HISTORIC’

Israel and United Arab Emirates Sign Free Trade Agreement

If ratified, the deal will lead to the removal of tariffs on 96 percent of goods, according to both countries’ ministries.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have signed a free trade agreement, another example of strengthening ties between Israel and Arab countries. The text of the deal has not yet been published and the agreement still awaits review from Israel’s parliament, as well as formal ratification by Israel’s government. If ratified, it will be the widest-ranging free trade deal between Israel and an Arab country. According to both ministries, the deal will lead to the removal of tariffs on 96 percent of goods within five years and could increase the annual value of trade 10-fold during that period. Israel’s prime minister described the deal, which is the fastest free trade agreement signed in the country’s history, as “historic,” and the UAE ambassador to Israel called it “an unprecedented achievement.” The New York Times reports that the speed of the deal represents how some Arab countries now consider the creation of a Palestinian state less of an immediate priority than they once did and are thus more willing to accept Israel.