To ease trade and investment restrictions, Qatar signed 61 bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Montenegro, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, and Turkey. Some countries have BITs signed with Qatar that are not yet in force. Currently, there is no U.S-Qatar free trade agreement or BIT.

Qatar is a strong supporter of regional integration and has ties with several Arab League member states.  As a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Qatar has implemented the GCC Common Customs Law of 2002 and follows the GCC unified customs tariff of 5% imposed since 2003 to facilitate the movement of foreign goods within the bloc.  Per the GCC Common Market and Economic Nationality Agreement of 1981 and subsequent regulations of 1987 and 1990, GCC nationals are free to move, work, reside, invest, and carry out retail and wholesale trade in Qatar, as everywhere else in the bloc. Implementation of these common agreements were temporarily interrupted during the Gulf rift between Qatar and three GCC members (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain), from June 2017 to January 2021. 

Resources

Contact the Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Doha.