The UAE

The UAE has gained much media ..... lately as a leading marketing and trans-shipment hub for multinational companies serving the Middle East and North Africa.

Overall, nearly US$72.3bn in goods were imported in 2006, most ..... from India, followed by China and Japan.

By year's end, the US expects to ..... nearly a 20% share of the UAE's import market.

The UAE is a Federal Sovereign State, formed in 1971, consisting of seven ..... - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah - and governed by the Supreme Council of the Federation, which is made up of their seven rulers.

A contracting ..... to GATT since 1964, the UAE joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1996.

The main federal legal instruments on investment in the UAE are the Commercial Companies Law and the Trade Agencies Law and these laws contain ..... limiting and regulating the participation of foreign investors in the UAE domestic economy.

Specifically, the Trade Agencies Law designates that importing and distribution activities are reserved for ..... UAE 'agents'.

However, a significant portion of trade moves through the UAE's free zones (22 in late 2005) where foreign investors can ..... 100% ownership, operate in a tax-free environment and be exempt from the licensing, agency, and national majority-ownership obligations that apply in the domestic economy.

Recently, changes have been made to the ..... of the Trade Agency Law and reforms are being actively discussed such as adoption of competition legislation, structural reforms, and further liberalization of the services sector.

The financial sector is developing rapidly, in part through the creation of financial free zones such as the Dubai International Financial Center, a financial free zone regulated by Dubai and ..... now to more than 100 financial services and associated companies.