UAE imports from US up 25% in H1

The UAE boosted imports from the United States by nearly 26 per cent in the first half of 2013 to retain its position as the largest market for US products in the Middle East.

Official data showed the UAE accounted for  around 32.5 per cent of the US’s total trade with the oil-rich Gulf countries in the first half of this year.

Two-way trade between the UAE and the US soared by nearly 23.8 per cent to Dh55.4 billion in the first half of 2013 from Dh44.7 billion in the first half of 2012, showed the figures by the US Department of Commerce.

The UAE’s imports from the US surged by about 25 per cent to Dh50.2 billion from Dh40.1 billion in the same period, the report showed.

“The UAE remained the largest market for US products in the region in the first half of this year,” said the report, carried by the semi official daily Alittihad.

It showed the UAE’s exports to the US, mostly crude oil, leaped by nearly120 per cent to Dh5.13bn compared with the first half of 2007 and by around 11 per cent from Dh4.6bn in the first half of 2013.

Saudi Arabia, one of the largest oil exporters to the US, emerged as the second GCC market for American products, with its imports of goods from that country standing at around $9.7bn in the first half of 2013. Qatar came third with around $2.58bn, followed by Kuwait with nearly $1.3bn.

The report showed the UAE controlled nearly 32.5 per cent of the US’s total trade with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council of about Dh170bn in the first half of 2013.

The US has maintained its position as the world’s third largest trading partner of the GCC after Japan and the European Union.

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