The Old Eagles LLC: Five Developments Reshaping U.S.–GCC–Europe Market Entry

Cross-border expansion between the United States, Europe, and the Gulf Cooperation Council is becoming more selective and strategically managed.

Market access now depends on more than price and product quality. Governments increasingly prioritize local content, regulatory compliance, economic security, reciprocal access, strategic partnerships, and supply-chain resilience.

Five recent developments illustrate this shift.

The EU Is Reforming Public Procurement

On September 9, the European Commission proposed replacing three existing procurement directives with a single regulation.

The proposal would simplify bidding through an EU-wide digital platform while giving public authorities greater ability to consider quality, cybersecurity, supply-chain resilience, European content, and strategic dependencies.

Authorities could potentially restrict bidders with insufficient European content or companies from countries that do not provide reciprocal access to European businesses.

The proposal must still be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states.

Business implication:

U.S. and GCC companies pursuing European public contracts will increasingly need European partners, suppliers, employees, or locally established operations. Consortium formation and local-content planning should begin before entering the tender process.

Europe Is Considering Import Safeguards for Chemicals and Plastics

France, Italy, and potentially Germany are preparing to request European safeguards against increasing imports of chemicals, plastics, PET, epoxy resins, and glass fibers.

Possible measures include quotas or additional tariffs. Unlike country-specific anti-dumping measures, safeguards may affect multiple trading partners.

No final measure has been adopted.

Business implication:

GCC petrochemical producers should review tariff classifications, rules of origin, distribution structures, and opportunities for European processing or manufacturing before expanding exports.

The UAE Is Strengthening Its Investment Corridor With Europe

The UAE and Germany announced agreements covering investment, artificial intelligence, energy, hydrogen, and technology cooperation. 

The objective is to connect European industrial and technological capabilities with UAE capital, infrastructure, and access to wider markets across the Gulf, Asia, and Africa.

UAE capital is also supporting a $1 billion French-American AI satellite project. The satellites will be assembled in Abu Dhabi while operating under French and European regulatory oversight.

Business implication:

European companies operating in artificial intelligence, energy, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, and related sectors have a strong opportunity to pursue UAE investment and commercialization partnerships.

The SEC Is Considering Removing a Barrier for Investment Advisers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed repealing its federal “pay-to-play” rule.

The existing rule can prevent investment advisers from receiving compensation from certain government entities following specific political contributions. The proposal remains subject to a 60-day public-comment period.

Even if the rule is repealed, investment advisers will continue to face federal antifraud provisions, fiduciary obligations, registration requirements, state-level restrictions, and internal compliance responsibilities.

Business implication:

The proposed change could reduce one federal compliance barrier for international asset managers, private-equity firms, and financial institutions seeking access to U.S. public pension capital.

However, the United States will remain a fragmented regulatory market requiring careful market-entry preparation.

Logistics and Route Resilience Are Becoming Core GCC Market-Entry Requirements

The UAE is expanding alternative trade and energy infrastructure to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.

The strategy includes increased eastern port capacity, pipelines, railway infrastructure, and alternative trade corridors designed to protect energy exports and broader economic activity from regional disruption.

This development affects companies operating far beyond the energy sector.

Business implication:

Companies importing equipment into the GCC, exporting products from the region, managing infrastructure projects, or depending on time-sensitive supply chains must now treat logistics resilience as part of their market-entry strategy.

A serious GCC expansion plan should include alternative shipping routes, cargo and political-risk insurance, additional transportation costs, inventory requirements, alternative suppliers, sanctions screening, force-majeure provisions, and business-continuity procedures.

Summary: The Old Eagles LLC Perspective

These developments confirm that successful international expansion requires more than identifying a market and contacting potential customers.

Companies entering the United States, the GCC, or Europe need clear positioning, regulatory readiness, qualified local partners, appropriate market-access structures, resilient supply chains, and sufficient resources for implementation.

The Old Eagles LLC supports companies through market-entry strategy, commercialization planning, partnership development, investor engagement, and cross-border implementation across the United States, the GCC, and Europe.

Our objective is not simply to help companies enter new markets. It is to build the commercial structure, strategic relationships, and execution pathway required for sustainable international growth.

The Old Eagles LLC | Press Department