Trade between the US and the UAE, its third largest trading partner in the Middle East, declined 16% to $5.43 billion during the first half of this year, from $6.49 billion for the same period in 2006, according to the US Bureau of Statistics.
The value of the UAE’s imports from the US fell by 17% to $4.8 billion up to June, reduced from nearly $5.8 billion a year ago, the figures show.
The UAE's exports to the US, of which it is a major capital exporter, also fell by 8% from $687.4 million during the first six month of 2006 to $625.8 million this year.
The trade deficit between the UAE and the US declined 18% to $4.187 billion compared with nearly $5.1 billion in the same period last year.
The US shipped $11.9 billion of goods to the UAE in 2006, making it the number one US export destination in the Middle East. Leading products include aircraft, drilling equipment, industrial engines and farm goods.
Free trade
Efforts to halt the slide will not be helped by the stall in free trade negotiations earlier this year.
Talks broke down after neither side could come to agreement over US demands for UAE labour market reforms and the opening of the services sector.
The US also wanted the UAE to change its Companies Law to allow 100% foreign ownership across the seven emirates, not just in the free zones.
The differences meant the countries were unable to complete discussions before the expiration of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) on June 30, which allowed the Bush administration to negotiate trade agreements that cannot be amended by Congress.
The US also began negotiations with fellow GCC member Oman around the same, which led to a deal which was approved by Congress. It also has a free trade pact with Bahrain.
The two sides has achieved progress in the areas of standards, environment, e-commerce, market penetration and copyright, and in March the UAE’s Ministry of Finance and Industry said that the two sides would continue to build on the progress made so far to address the other issues. Source
The value of the UAE’s imports from the US fell by 17% to $4.8 billion up to June, reduced from nearly $5.8 billion a year ago, the figures show.
The UAE's exports to the US, of which it is a major capital exporter, also fell by 8% from $687.4 million during the first six month of 2006 to $625.8 million this year.
The trade deficit between the UAE and the US declined 18% to $4.187 billion compared with nearly $5.1 billion in the same period last year.
The US shipped $11.9 billion of goods to the UAE in 2006, making it the number one US export destination in the Middle East. Leading products include aircraft, drilling equipment, industrial engines and farm goods.
Free trade
Efforts to halt the slide will not be helped by the stall in free trade negotiations earlier this year.
Talks broke down after neither side could come to agreement over US demands for UAE labour market reforms and the opening of the services sector.
The US also wanted the UAE to change its Companies Law to allow 100% foreign ownership across the seven emirates, not just in the free zones.
The differences meant the countries were unable to complete discussions before the expiration of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) on June 30, which allowed the Bush administration to negotiate trade agreements that cannot be amended by Congress.
The US also began negotiations with fellow GCC member Oman around the same, which led to a deal which was approved by Congress. It also has a free trade pact with Bahrain.
The two sides has achieved progress in the areas of standards, environment, e-commerce, market penetration and copyright, and in March the UAE’s Ministry of Finance and Industry said that the two sides would continue to build on the progress made so far to address the other issues. Source
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