The United States is close to reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia on tariff cuts that the kingdom needs to make to join the World Trade Organisation, a top US trade official said in a letter obtained on Friday. "We are close to finalising our agreement on tariffs with Saudi Arabia, and we are increasingly more comfortable that the multilateral issues will be addressed satisfactorily," acting US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said in the letter to Sen. Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat.
President George W. Bush will host Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah at his ranch in Crawford, Texas on Monday.
Saudi Arabia is the leading member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and one of relatively few countries still not a member of the WTO.
In the lead-up to meeting on Monday, US and Saudi trade negotiators have been working around the clock to try to finalise a bilateral deal on the terms of Riyadh's entry into the WTO, an industry official said.
"I think they would like to be able to make an announcement in Crawford. But whether or not they are going to narrow the final gap by then is really up in the air," the industry official said.
One potential snag is a human rights issue that Lincoln raised on Thursday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Rep. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, to be the next US trade representative.
She urged the United States not to sign off on a deal allowing Saudi Arabia into the WTO until the country has made "meaningful progress" toward resolving a child abduction case involving one of her constituents.
Heidi Al-Omary "was abducted in 1997 as a five-year-old by her Saudi born-father. She's been stuck in Saudi Arabia ever since because the Saudi government doesn't believe her father, who is a wanted fugitive in our country, has done anything wrong," Lincoln said.
Portman, who could be confirmed next week by the Senate, called Lincoln's statement "heart-wrenching" and promised to look into the case.
The United States has a lot of interests at stake in the WTO negotiations with Saudi Arabia and "one of our interests ought to be human rights," Portman said.
Meanwhile, Omani Commerce and Industry Minister Makboul bin Ali bin Sultan told Reuters on Friday that the United States and Saudi Arabia appeared close to a bilateral deal.
"From my discussions with the people here in Washington, I think they will finish and reach an agreement soon," bin Sultan said, adding he did not know if that would happen by Monday.
To gain entry into the WTO, Saudi Arabia must negotiate a bilateral market access deal with any of the 148 WTO members that requests one. It also must negotiate a multilateral agreement with all WTO members to bring its trade regime into line with international rules.
The United States is the only WTO member that has not finished a bilateral deal with Saudi Arabia, Allgeier said. "There is still work remaining, particularly in services, but I remain hopeful that the accession process will reinforce reforms that are now underway in the Kingdom," he said.
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