United Arab Emirates Member profile
No notifications submitted by United Arab Emirates
Trade policy review
Latest Trade Policy Review (Report by the WTO Secretariat): WT/TPR/S/423/Rev.1
A. Import prohibitions and restrictions and import licensing
3.24.
Under the GCC Common Customs Law, each GCC State may determine a list of prohibited and/or restricted products. Imports that are prohibited in one or more GCC member States and permitted in another may not transit through the States in which they are prohibited. According to the authorities, technical committees are currently developing a common GCC‑wide prohibited list.
3.25.
There have been no major changes to the legislation governing prohibited or restricted goods in the UAE, with restrictions based on issues of public safety, public health, environment, natural resources, and national security or for reasons related to the UAE foreign policy.[186] The Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control[187] issues permits for the import, export, or re‑export of certain (dual‑use) chemical components, for armoured vehicles including components, and dual-use strategic goods. The UAE is also a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, the Rotterdam Convention on Trade in Hazardous Chemicals, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Goods prohibited from entering the UAE are listed in Table 3.4.
3.26.
Other than goods prohibited from entering, a list of products that are restricted from entering the UAE exists as well. The products on this list are determined by each Emirate, and they are subject to additional import requirements, such as veterinary or plant health certificates or are subject to limits such as those applying to alcohol or e‑cigarettes (Table 3.5).
3.27.
According to the latest notifications by the authorities, the UAE does not have legislation on import licensing procedures nor are there import licensing requirements in place.[188]
3.28.
Pre-shipment inspection requirements for products and countries of origin are in place based on risk management criteria.
3.29.
Following the conclusion of the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement between the UAE and Israel that officially normalized the relationship between the two countries, all UAE customs authorities lifted the ban on imports from and exports to Israel on 15 November 2020 and trade flows are no longer restricted.[189]
3.30.
Between June 2017 and January 2021, the UAE applied restrictions on trade with Qatar as part of measures imposed by the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.
B. Export prohibitions and restrictions
3.38.
The GCC Common Customs Law prohibits the admission, transit, or exit of prohibited goods, infringing goods, and restricted goods without approval of the competent authorities at the emirate level (Tables 3.4 and 3.5). As mentioned in Section 3.1.5, Federal Law No. 13 of 19 August 2007 on the Commodities Subject to the Monitoring of Imports and Exports (as amended) authorizes government bodies to restrict or ban the import, export, and re‑export of goods deemed a threat to the UAE's national security, foreign policy, natural resources, public health and safety, or the environment. The Law prohibits the export and re‑export of strategic goods including arms and military hardware, chemical and biological materials, and dual-use items without a special licence, detailed in a list of strategic goods subject to import and export control established by Cabinet Resolution No. 50 of 2020 attached to Federal Law No. 13 of 2017.[195] The Committee for Goods and Materials Subject to Import and Export Control oversees implementation. Additional items are prohibited or restricted for exportation under specific laws such as narcotic drugs that are prohibited under Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2016 amending some provisions of Federal Law No. 14 of 1995 on Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, or exports of rough diamonds that are restricted under Federal Law No. 13 of 2004 for Controlling Import, Export, and Transit of Rough Diamonds.
3.39.
In May 2020, the Ministry of Economy banned the export of ferrous and paper scrap to maintain raw material supplies for the manufacturing of equipment to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The ban was extended in September 2020 and again in July 2021 for five months. The authorities indicate that the measure will be notified to the WTO. The authorities also indicate that no other export restriction measure (either ban or specific export licence) has been implemented in the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic, as found by the WTO COVID‑19 and World Trade database and the International Trade Centre.[196]
3.40.
As described in Section 3.1.5, imports from and exports to Israel are no longer banned as of 15 November 2020. Between June 2017 and January 2021, the UAE applied restrictions on trade with Qatar as part of measures imposed by the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.
WTO's environmental database (EDB)
The EDB contains environment-related measures that may qualify as QRs and therefore should be notified under the QR Decision.