Javid Hassan, Arab News
RIYADH, 4 September 2004 — A study conducted by the Washington-based Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRMEP) says that congressional roadblocks against Saudi Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) are proving to be counter-productive as lucrative contracts are going to other countries.
The study becomes significant in the context of the current visit of Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Fawaz Al-Alamy to Washington to hold talks with US officials as part of the Kingdom’s efforts to gain admission to the WTO.
The study, undertaken by Grant F. Smith, director of the institute, has documented that while the total US-assembled auto and light passenger vehicle exports only grew by 6.6 percent, US auto exports to the Kingdom from Michigan alone surged by 25 percent during the same period.
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