Committee on Regional Trade Agreements - Council for Trade in Services - Notification of regional trade agreement - Australia and United Arab Emirates

NOTIFICATION OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENT


1.

Member(s) notifying: Australia and United Arab Emirates

2.

Date of notification: 6 November 2025

3.

Notification pursuant to

[X] Article XXIV:7(a) of GATT 1994

[X] Article V:7(a) of GATS

[ ] Paragraph 4(a) of the Enabling Clause

4.

Parties to the Agreement: Australia and United Arab Emirates

5.

Date of signature: 6 November 2024

6.

Date(s) of entry into Force: 1 October 2025

7.

Brief description of the Agreement: 

The Australia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) establishes a free trade area for trade in goods and services within the meaning of GATT 1994 Article XXIV and GATS Article V:7(a). It comprises twenty-six chapters including five side letters.

The provisions contained in CEPA’s goods-related chapters (Chapter 2 – 8) reaffirm existing rights and obligations under the relevant WTO covered agreements. Chapter on Trade in Goods (Chapter 2) establishes the basic rules governing trade in goods between the Parties. These rules are consistent with the Parties obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and other Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement. Tariff commitments reduce or eliminate customs duties on originating goods.

Other chapters cover Rules of Origin (Chapter 3), Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation (Chapter 4), Trade Remedies (Chapter 5), Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (Chapter 6), Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (Chapter 7), and Technical Barriers to Trade (Chapter 8)

There is a chapter on Trade in Services (Chapter 9), Entry and Temporary Stay for Business Persons (Chapter 10), Investment Facilitation (Chapter 11), Digital Trade (Chapter 12) Competition and Consumer Protection (Chapter 13),  Intellectual Property (Chapter 14), Government Procurement (Chapter 15) Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Chapter 16), Indigenous Peoples Trade and Investment Economic Cooperation (Chapter 17),  Environment and the Transition to Net-Zero (Chapter 18), Trade, Gender Balance and Women´s Economic Empowerment (Chapter 19), Trade and Labour (Chapter 20), Economic Cooperation (Chapter 21) Transparency and Anti-Corruption (Chapter 22) General Provisions and Exceptions (Chapter 24) Dispute Settlement (Chapter 25) and Final Provisions (Chapter 26).

 

8.

Text and related schedules, annexes and protocols are:

[ ] submitted to the WTO Secretariat (electronic format)

[X] available from the following official Internet link(s):

Australia:

Australia-UAE CEPA Official Text | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

United Arab Emirates:

https://www.moet.gov.ae/en/uae-australia-comprehensive-economic-partnership-agreement