Insider tip from the Shipping Industry/Customs

[kpete]

Insider tip from the Shipping Industry/Customs.
by dubyaD40
Wed Feb 22, 2006 at 12:42:07 PM PDT
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I got this e-mail from a friend in the shipping business. It came down from Customs:

Are You Ready for MEFTA?

Our last issue discussed the progress and implications of CAFTA (CAFTA-DR, actually) but while CAFTA has not yet been implemented, another Free Trade Agreement has been sneaking up on us. The U.S. Bahrain FTA is in force, and on January 19th, U.S. Trade Rep Rob Portman and Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry Maqbool bin Ali Sultan signed the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement. These nations join a Middle East free trade group that includes Israel, Jordan, and Morocco.

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Is there more to come? We're glad you asked. In May of 2003 President Bush announced a program of graduated steps to involve Middle East countries in the free trade process. The U.S. is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, so there are six Middle East nations who have completed or are negotiating FTA's. But there are other significant steps in the process. One first step is encouraging peaceful countries to join the World Trade Organization... and the U.S. is assisting Lebanon, Algeria, and Yemen in this effort.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/2/22/14427/0328
See here for more info: http://mepi.state.gov/...