Using the Regional and Multilateral Trade Frameworks as a Solution to the Food Security Problem in the United Arab Emirates

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and evaluate how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can better utilize the existing Multilateral Trade System provided by the World Trade Organization, as well as its current bilateral and plurilateral trade treaties, to alleviate its food supply constraints. Given the UAE’s outstanding development during the last few decades and its ambitious economic vision for the future, it is of great importance to find a strategy that would allow the country’s continuous and sustainable growth assuring the food supply needed to satisfy the needs of its population across all social levels, as well as of visiting tourists. By doing so, this analysis will also illustrate the UAE’s needs, opportunities, and effective policies currently implemented in the areas of agriculture, food supply, development strategies, and international trade. Recommendations include: Trade Facilitation, Reduction of Tariffs and Leveraging WTO benefits. Key Words: Multilateral Trade System, United Arab Emirates, Food Security