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English/Tratop E/Tpr E/Tp Rep E.Htm WT/TPR/M/408 21 May 2021 (21-4203) Page: 1/46 Trade Policy Review Body 6 and 8 April 2021 TRADE POLICY REVIEW QATAR MINUTES OF THE MEETING Chairperson: H.E. Dr. Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme (Botswana) CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON ....................................................... 2 2 OPENING STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF QATAR ........................................ 4 3 STATEMENT BY THE DISCUSSANT ................................................................................ 8 4 STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS ........................................................................................ 11 5 REPLIES BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF QATAR AND ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ............ 40 6 CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON ......................................................... 45 Note: Advance written questions and additional questions by WTO Members, and the replies provided by Qatar are reproduced in document WT/TPR/M/408/Add.1 and will be available online at http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp_rep_e.htm. WT/TPR/M/408 • Qatar - 2 - 1 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS BY THE CHAIRPERSON 1.1. The third Trade Policy Review of Qatar was held on 6 and 8 April 2021. The Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme (Botswana), welcomed the delegation of Qatar, headed by H.E. Mr. Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Commerce and Industry; H.E. Ambassador Mr. Ali Khalfan Al-Mansouri, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the WTO; the rest of the delegation from Doha; and the discussant H.E. Ambassador Mr. Tan Hung Seng (Singapore). 1.2. The Chairperson was pleased that, in addition to physical presence, the meeting also benefitted from the Interprefy online connection, allowing for a wider participation of the Membership, in particular of officials who could not make the journey from Doha given the current circumstances. 1.3. The Chairperson recalled the purpose of TPRs and the main elements of procedures for the meeting. The report by Qatar is contained in document WT/TPR/G/408, and that of the WTO Secretariat in documents WT/TPR/S/408 and WT/TPR/S/408/Corr.1. 1.4. Questions by the following delegations were submitted in writing before the deadline: Turkey; Oman; Brazil; Canada; Japan; Singapore; the European Union; Chile; the Dominican Republic; Ukraine; and the United States. The following delegations submitted written questions after the deadline: Argentina; the Philippines; Thailand; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Indonesia; and China. 1.5. At the time of its previous Review in 2014, Qatar had been congratulated by Members for having experienced high GDP growth, and for having weathered the global economic and financial crisis well. Members had noted that Qatar's narrow economic and fiscal base could expose the country to vulnerabilities, and they had appreciated Qatar's investment in down-stream industries for diversification. Members had paid attention to, inter alia, customs procedures and tariffs, intellectual property rights protection, government procurement, SPS, services and investment, and notifications and transparency. 1.6. The Chairperson focused on developments since the previous Review. According to the Secretariat report, Qatar experienced three economic shocks during the review period: the decline of natural gas prices in 2014; the diplomatic rift in 2017; and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Government responded to these shocks by taking measures to: rein in government expenditures and maintain fiscal discipline; tap into its sovereign wealth fund to deal with urgent situations; diversify its import sources; and adopt several mitigation measures. 1.7. Qatar continues to improve its trade and investment environment by, inter alia, increasing transparency through the e-government, legal, and e-commerce portals; restructuring the ministries and agencies related to trade and investment; and amending and revising legislation on foreign investment, intellectual property rights protection, anti-money laundering, and incentive schemes. Qatar promotes e-commerce, through measures to strengthen the regulatory framework, enhance delivery, enable e-payment, and empower e-merchants. 1.8. Qatar is an active participant in WTO activities, and it ratified the TFA in 2017. According to the Secretariat report, Qatar maintains an open trade and investment regime. The simple average applied MFN tariff rate was 5.1% in 2020. The tariff structure is rather simple, and all tariff lines are bound. The new law on FDI allows foreign ownership of up to 100% in almost all economic sectors. 1.9. Other issues highlighted in the WTO Secretariat report are the following: Qatar notified to the WTO that it does not maintain any state-trading enterprises, although the State grants exclusive rights to some enterprises to import or export certain products. Its public procurement regime underwent significant changes, as the new law on public procurement decentralized the tendering process. Despite reforms to its IPR protection system, the number of patent and trademark applications filed by Qatari residents remains low, and the implementation of the Copyright Law has been delayed. 1.10. In its Government report, Qatar explained that it had to deal with a continuously evolving economic and political landscape. In response, the Government has been expanding Qatar's export and import markets, establishing new shipping routes, developing domestic markets, implementing further trade facilitation measures, supporting and promoting foreign investment, and continuing to WT/TPR/M/408 • Qatar - 3 - implement the multilateral trading system through regional and bilateral cooperation agreements. Members wished to know more about these policies and their effectiveness through their discussions. 1.11. In addition, a quick survey of the advance questions submitted for this Review showed the wide range of topics of interest to Members regarding Qatar's trade and investment regimes, such as customs procedures and trade facilitation; tariffs and other duties and charges; import restrictions and licensing; incentives; state-trading, state-owned enterprises and privatization; SPS and TBT measures; government procurement; protection of IPRs; mining and energy; financial, telecommunications, courier, transport, and tourism services; investment promotion; and e-commerce development. 1.12. In total, Qatar received 272 written questions from 17 Members for this Review, of which 171 were sent within the established deadline, covering a broad range of topics. Prior to this meeting, Qatar had already provided written replies to most of these questions, and the Chairperson looked forward to hearing Qatar's updates on these issues on the first- or second-day session. 1.13. This meeting was a good opportunity for Members to discuss in greater detail issues of interest to them and of systemic importance to the multilateral trading system. It was also an opportune moment for Qatar to update the membership on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its economy, and measures it had taken in response, given that the documentation prepared for this Review might not have covered the latest measures taken. The Chairperson looked forward to a fruitful exchange. 1.14. The Chairperson closed her introductory remarks by wishing Qatar a very successful third Trade Policy Review. WT/TPR/M/408 • Qatar - 4 - 2 OPENING STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF QATAR (H.E. MR. ALI BIN AHMED AL KUWARI) 2.1. Good morning. I would like to begin by thanking the Director General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the WTO Secretariat for the work pursuant to this Trade Policy Review. Most of it was undertaken last year under severe restrictions during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We value the Secretariat’s effort and leadership in bringing this exercise to a fruitful conclusion, in passing, allowing Qatar to continue to honour its commitments. In particular, we extend our gratitude to the Trade Policy Review Director, Mr. Willy Alfaro, for his leadership during these trying times. 2.2. Our appreciation also goes to the Permanent Representative of Singapore, His Excellency Ambassador Tan Hung Seng, whom we are honoured to have as our discussant, as well as to the Chair of the TPR Body, the Permanent Representative of Botswana, H.E. Ambassador Athaliah Molokomme. We congratulate Ambassador Molokomme for her recent appointment and wish her the best in her new role as Chairperson to this Body. We commend them both for their work and guidance in making this TPR — Qatar’s third exercise — a successful one. 2.3. Qatar ascribes high value to the Trade Policy Review Mechanism as it supports direct and transparent approach to clarifying Members’ policies, options and positions whilst, at the same time, provides valuable information to the private sector. The speed of change in the world economy, whether brought about by unforeseen events or emerging economic and financial trends, makes this exercise a fundamental tool for everyone. Qatar remains committed to the rules-based system of trade, not only due to our core belief in the need for transparency and predictability in international trade, but also because we will continue to make extensive use of its practices and disciplines as we move forward to meet our development goals, as stated in Qatar National Vision 2030. 2.4. Since our last Trade Policy Review in 2014, Qatar has relied extensively on the multilateral trading system to resolve the challenges we faced. Our actions were not just about the practicalities
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