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The EU and United Arab Emirates have launched trade talks as countries continue to search for alternative markets due to US tariffs.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed to the request of UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan during a call on Thursday.

“The UAE shares strong and long-standing ties with the European Union and its member states, and today we agreed to launch negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU,” said Sheikh Mohammed in a post on X.

“Through this agreement, we aim to deepen bilateral relations and promote economic growth for the benefit of our countries and peoples,” he added.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said he would hit both the EU and UAE with so called “reciprocal tariffs” of 20 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. He has since paused the levies for 90 days to allow for negotiations.

The UAE, one of the world’s top 10 oil producers, has been pushing for a deal with the EU for some time but Brussels hoped to strike one with the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which the UAE is a member.

The UAE has pursued dozens of bilateral trade deals in recent years, sidestepping the slower-moving members of the GCC such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Although the EU and GCC began negotiating a free trade agreement in 1990, talks stalled in 2008.

Emirati state media reported last month that the UAE had started work on 26 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements since 2021, of which six have officially “entered into force”. But as its second-largest global trading partner, with $67.6bn in bilateral trade outside oil in 2024, the EU is a particularly important target for the UAE.

The EU imports mining products and manufactured goods from the UAE and sells it machinery, transport equipment and chemicals.

Abu Dhabi energy companies and sovereign funds have invested heavily in Europe, from a big chemicals group in Germany to solar farms in Spain and a renewable energy company in Greece.

“The upcoming negotiations will focus on liberalising trade in goods, services, and investment, while deepening co-operation in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, green hydrogen and critical raw materials,” the Commission said in a statement.