US Trade Representative Susan Schwab is visiting the Gulf this week to explore whether a free trade agreement with the UAE is still possible, a US trade official said.

Schwab will hold talks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two of the seven emirates that comprise the UAE, said Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the US Trade Representative's office.

'It will be a chance to make a push for the FTA' and check on outstanding issues, Spicer said in an e-mail.

Schwab will also visit Oman to check on implementation of a free trade pact that was approved by the US Congress two years ago but still has not gone into force, Spicer said.

The US and the UAE began talks on a free trade agreement in early 2005. However, the negotiations made slow process and were thrown off track in 2006, when outrage erupted in Congress over Dubai Ports World's acquisition of port facilities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami as part of its purchase of British company P&O.

Dubai Ports World eventually sold P&O's American operations to US insurer AIG's asset management division, Global Investment Group, to calm the furor.

Early last year, the US and the UAE agreed it would be impossible to complete a free trade pact before White House trade promotion authority expired on June 30, 2007, Schwab's office said in a 2007 annual report.

The two countries decided to pursue another option, which they called a 'Trade and Investment Framework Agreement-Plus,' for boosting economic ties, the report said.

If the US and the UAE were to revive free trade talks, it would fall to the next US president to get it through Congress since President George W Bush leaves office in January.

Meanwhile, US trade officials have said they hoped the free trade pact with Oman could take force this year.

The US Senate gave final congressional approval to that agreement in September 2006, but the United States has been waiting for Oman to enact certain regulations and legislation. -Reuters