Sure, wide open society and they really want to be like us No. They want us to be like them. http://www.freerepublic.com/^http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/8192.pdf 5. Significant Barriers to U.S. Exports The UAE maintains non-tariff barriers to trade and investment in the form of restrictive agency, sponsorship, and distributorship requirements. To do business in the UAE outside of one of the free zones, a foreign business, in most cases, must have a UAE national sponsor, agent or distributor. Once chosen, sponsors, agents, or distributors have exclusive rights. They cannot be replaced without their agreement. Government tendering is not conducted according to generally accepted international standards. Re-tendering is the norm. To bid on federal projects, a supplier or contractor must be either a UAE national or a company in which UAE nationals own at least 51 percent of the share capital. Federal tenders are required to be accompanied by a bid bond in the form of an unconditional bank guarantee for five percent of the value of the bid. Except for companies located in one of the free zones, at least 51 percent of a business establishment must be owned by a UAE national. A business engaged in importing and distributing a product must be either a 100 percent UAE owned agency/distributorship or a 51 percent UAE/49 percent foreign Limited Liability Company (LLC). Subsidies for manufacturing firms are only available to those with at least 51 percent local ownership. The laws and regulations governing foreign investment in the UAE are evolving. There is no national treatment for investors in the UAE. Non-GCC nationals cannot own land. Only one stock is currently open to foreign investors and is capped at 20 percent total foreign ownership, although limited participation by foreigners in a few mutual funds is permitted. There have been no significant investment disputes over the past few years involving U.S. or other foreign investors. Claims resolution is generally not a problem, because foreign companies tend not to press claims, believing that to do so might jeopardize future business activity in the UAE. 6. Export Subsidies Policies The government does not employ subsidies to provide direct or indirect support for exports. 7. Protection of U.S. Intellectual Property The UAE is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a contracting party to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and has signed the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (patent, trademark, and related industrial property). In April 2001, the UAE was placed on the "Special 301" Watch List following the registration of a number of U.S. patent-protected medicines in violation of assurances from the UAE government that unlicensed copies of patent-protected medicines would no longer be registered. Discussions aimed at resolving this issue are ongoing.
Geez, you've been here over a year; learn to format.
Nobody's gonna read that.