Israel, UAE To Sign Landmark Free Trade Deal Tuesday

Israel and the United Arab Emirates will sign a free trade agreement in Dubai on Tuesday – Israel’s first with an Arab country. The move is intended to boost trade between the two countries, Israel’s Economy Ministry said on Monday. Customs duties will be eliminated on 96% of products, including food, agriculture, cosmetics, medical equipment, and medicine. The agreement also deals with trade-related issues such as regulation and standards, customs, trade in services, cooperation, government procurement, electronic trade, and maintaining trademarks. The UAE and Israel normalized diplomatic ties in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords that also included Bahrain. Sudan and Morocco later also signed normalization agreements with Israel.