US : Saudi Arabia to remove the secondary and tertiary aspects of the Arab boycott of Israel

US Trade Representative Robert Portman said last week that the US and Saudi Arabia had concluded negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement that will enable Saudi Arabia to join the World Trade Organization (WTO).
 
According to Portman, Saudi Arabia agreed, as a condition for accession to the WTO, to a US demand and confirmed that it would not apply the secondary and tertiary aspects of the Arab boycott of Israel.
 
Portman added that under the bilateral agreement with the US, Saudi Arabia agreed to fully open its markets to US goods and services.
 
In a press release issued by the US Trade Representative, Portman said that one of the toughest subjects in the US-Saudi negotiations concerned the Arab boycott on goods and services produced in full or in part in Israel. In the agreement Saudi Arabia pledged not to enforce the Arab boycott against US companies that maintain trade relations with Israel.
 
Saudi Arabia is one of the last important economies still not a signatory to the 148-member WTO. Several Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates have already concluded, or are negotiating, free trade agreements with the US. Israel is a member of the WTO.