GCC Federation of Chambers to Discuss Customs Unity

 Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) attend a meeting in Bayan Palace, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Assad Hani
Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) attend a meeting in Bayan Palace, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Assad Hani
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GCC Federation of Chambers to Discuss Customs Unity

 Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) attend a meeting in Bayan Palace, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Assad Hani
Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) attend a meeting in Bayan Palace, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, December 4, 2017. REUTERS/Assad Hani

Federation of Chambers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will discuss next Thursday the completion of customs' unity requirements among the GCC countries, knowing that trade exchange has grown between the Gulf and the world to USD891.5 billion in 2016.

Abdul Rahim al-Naqi, Secretary General of the Federation of Chambers of GCC, stated that the federation is willing, in cooperation with Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), to hold a workshop on the efforts exerted to complete customs' unity requirements among the GCC countries.

Naqi added, in his statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, that the workshop will discuss the journey and achievements of custom federation as well as outcomes and requirements for full completion, and the assessment of the current customs regime.

Leaders of the federation approved in Muscat Summit in December 2001 the new economic agreement which resulted in the foundation of the customs' unity among the GCC countries that became active in the first of January 2003 to go in tandem with the comprehensive work of Gulf work.

Customs' unity is a significant step to reach a joint Gulf market and to support the negotiating forces of GCC countries in order to get better conditions with commercial partners in fields of trade and investment, said Naqi. He added that the unity led to a 9.3 percent growth in foreign trade of the GCC countries with the world during 2001-2016, reaching USD891.5 billion in 2016 compared to USD234.2 billion in 2001.

This would boost the foreign trade contribution of the GCC to the total world trade, reaching 2.7 percent in 2016 against 1.9 percent in 2001. Further, exports of GCC would grow 8.2 percent during that period while imports would increase around 10.9 percent.



UN Trade Agency: New Trade War Deadline Prolongs Instability

Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)
Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)
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UN Trade Agency: New Trade War Deadline Prolongs Instability

Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)
Workers inspect imported stones at a marble factory in Kishangarh, in India's Rajasthan state on July 8, 2025. (Photo by HIMANSHU SHARMA / AFP)

The Trump administration's decision to extend a negotiating deadline for tariff rates is prolonging uncertainty and instability for countries, the executive director of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump on Monday ramped up his trade war, telling 14 nations, from powerhouse suppliers such as Japan and South Korea to minor trade players, that they now face sharply higher tariffs from a new deadline of August 1.

"This move actually extends the period of uncertainty, undermining long-term investment and business contracts, and creating further uncertainty and instability," Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Centre, told reporters in Geneva, according to Reuters.

"If a business is not clear on what costs they are going to pay, they cannot plan, they cannot decide on who will invest," Coke-Hamilton said, citing the example of Lesotho, where major textile exporting companies have withheld their investment for the time being, pending a tariff outcome.

The uncertainty, combined with deep cuts in development aid, had created a "dual shock" for developing countries, she added.

Countries have been under pressure to conclude deals with the US after Trump unleashed a global trade war in April that roiled financial markets and sent policymakers scrambling to protect their economies.