Qatar`s talks with the EU follow an agreement reached last year with the Us to provide detailed financial information on Qatar Airways. “Not only does Qatar`s fraud undermine competition and threaten American workers – more than 1,500 American jobs are lost for every route launched by a subsidized promoter from the Middle East to the United States – but it directly and intentionally threatens our “American First” policy,” wrote Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) in a recent letter to the White House. “Mr President, I ask you to continue to confront Qatar and ask for the implementation of the agreement they are violating, or else we must withdraw completely from the agreement.” The new Qatar-EU agreement provides for “unlimited and unlimited access” to the two states of the nation of the other. According to a statement from Qatar Airways, “all airlines in the 28 member states of the European Union and Qatar now have unlimited and unlimited access to their respective territories.” An open skies agreement attempts to support commercial aviation by “opening” the skies between two nations. For the most part, the agreement will minimize state intervention in passenger and cargo transport. This means that operators based in other Member States have full access to their colleagues. The list identifies all the current open-ski partners who say that under the agreement, Qatar would no longer require European airlines to have a local commercial to fly to Doha, Baker said. Qatar is expected to sign an open skies agreement with the European Union. On Tuesday, both sides said they expected the agreement to be signed by the end of the year. The agreement provides that each party has unlimited access to the territories of the other party. This is what emerges from a press release from Qatar Airways.
But Qatar quickly made it clear that it was reinterpreting the agreement so that it made no sense. It bought a 49% stake in a troubled airline called Air Italy, which had previously flown only regionally in Europe, with some seasonal flights to the United States. Two days after Qatar Airways acquired a stake, Air Italy has embarked on an expansion that now offers non-stop flights from Milan, Italy to New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Its low prices are clearly designed to rob U.S. airline passengers and use their Qatar government subsidies to offset losses. This measure is part of a comprehensive air transport agreement, which contains provisions on fair competition, transparency, the environment and consumer protection, although specific details have not been disclosed. The “open skies” agreement between Qatar and the 28 current EU member states would be signed. These include the UNITED Kingdom as an EU member state: “The UK remains a full member of the EU for the time being and the rights and obligations remain fully valid in the UK and with regard to it.” But as Trump`s trade threats for tariffs steal headlines, the Trump administration will soon have to make a series of decisions on non-tariff barriers. These include quotas in the new Trump deal with Canada and Mexico, which will follow NAFTA, and a nasty dispute over agreements negotiated by the United States to ensure fair competition on international flights. In these non-tariff cases, it is not a first-hand way to convince trading partners to create a level playing field, but to enforce existing agreements. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said, “If trade agreements are not implemented, the philosophy behind their negotiations does not matter.” Currently, all EU air carriers heading to Qatar must have a local trade agent in Doha in order to fly.
This is imposed by Qatar, but will be abolished under the Open Skies Agreement.