DOHA, Qatar - Qatar has frozen bilateral free trade talks with the United States, saying Washington was imposing preconditions that were not in Doha's interest, a newspaper reported Saturday.
"The talks were not proceeding in the right direction. They were going nowhere. It was like two deaf people talking to each other. There was no sense in continuing with the dialogue," Al Khalifa said.
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"We do not need a free trade agreement with the U.S.," Al Khalifa said.
Qatar, he said, already was a major destination of investment for U.S. companies because of favorable investment laws in the tiny Gulf nation.
Countries that are signing free trade deals with the U.S. are either getting financial support from Washington or want preferential treatment for their products in the U.S. markets, he said.
"As for Qatar, it needs none of these from America," said Al Khalifa.
Qatar's primary export is liquefied natural gas, for which there is a hungry worldwide market.
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