A logo is pictured outside the WTO headquarters in Geneva.
UAE files WTO complaint after Qatar bans products
Latest escalation in hostilities between the Gulf neighbours sees Abu Dhabi file complaint at world trade body after Qatar bans its products in retaliation for boycott.
Tuesday 29/01/2019
A logo is pictured outside the WTO headquarters in Geneva.
DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates has filed a complaint against Qatar at the World Trade Organization saying Doha has imposed a ban on Emirati products and was in "flagrant violation" of WTO rules, UAE state news agency WAM said on Tuesday.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt have imposed a diplomatic, trade and transport boycott of Qatar since June 2017 over allegations Doha supports both Islamist extremists and Iran, a charge Qatar denies.
Qatar accuses Riyadh and its allies of seeking regime change in Doha.
Qatar filed in July 2017 a wide-ranging legal complaint at the WTO to challenge the trade boycott by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The case is still ongoing.
"The UAE's action comes after the Qatari ministry of economy banned the sale of consumer goods manufactured in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt," WAM reported.
The report did not state when the complaint was filed.
Qatari officials were not immediately available for comment on the complaint.
The UAE said Qatar had also removed the names of Emirati companies from the list of approved vendors for infrastructure projects and has maintained an "undeclared ban" on products coming from the Emirates.
Qatar banned products originating from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, in May 2018 in retaliation against the boycott against it.
The row has forced isolated Qatar, which previously relied on its Gulf neighbours for much-needed imports, to look elsewhere for food products, including Turkey, Morocco and Iran.