The European Union (EU) plans to reduce its tariff on aluminium imported from six Persian Gulf States including Saudi Arabia in order to help push through a free trade deal that`s been over 15 years in the making.
It is offering to cut the tariff from its current 6% for the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, said Bloomberg, citing German ministry official Bernd Pfaffenbach.
However, a lowering of the tariff would reduce protection for producers within the EU, including Alcan Inc, Norsk Hydro ASA, Glencore International AG and Rio Tinto plc.
"This is something that is not very easy for those who are producers in our countries because we don`t want to outsource these factories," said Mr Pfaffenbach. "But we are really in discussion there, and we can show some kind of flexibility."
Other issues between the two regions that still need to be resolved include reform of the GCC customs union, tariffs on petrochemical products, rules of origin, and the issue of most for the negotiations.
The EU is also seeking for the GCC to further liberalise its services industry.
The world`s biggest producer of aluminium are shutting down units in Europe and the US to move to the Middle East, where labour and power supplies are cheaper.
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