A European regulation setting strict ESG-reporting standards for large companies trading with the bloc creates unfair competition, Qatar’s finance minister said.
The rules may affect Qatar’s supplies of liquefied natural gas to Europe, he said.
"Such a regulation is unfair competition,” Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "If we’re put under pressure we will look for other places for our exports.” He said he hopes the EU will restudy the directive.
The new regulation, which came into force in July, outlines steps that large companies must take to identify and address adverse human-rights impacts, including with regards to climate change. It mandates detailed corporate transition plans and opens businesses to lawsuits if there are violations in their value chains.
Qatar’s LNG exports to EU members made up about 13% of the country’s total shipments last year, down from 16% in 2023 and 18% the previous year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Kuwari’s comments echoed those of the head of QatarEnergy, which oversees the Gulf state’s LNG exports. The new rule makes "absolutely no sense,” Saad Al-Kaabi has said.
"I think this is going to be a big issue,” Kuwari added. "It’s really affecting trade.”
The finance minister also said:--Qatar has an "excellent relationship” with China and the US, and both are important trading partners. "We don’t like to mix relationships when it comes to these issues,” he said. He warned that tariffs are a "two-sided weapon” and can create inflationary pressures
--Qatar’s economic diversification plan focuses on four key sectors - low-carbon manufacturing, technology, tourism and logistics - with a target of growing the non-hydrocarbon economy by 4% annually by 2030.
