Trade & Export
A member of the World Trade Organization since 1996, the UAE supports open trade and has stable trade relations with countries throughout the world. Thanks to its open economy, attractive business environment and continued economic growth, the UAE has emerged as a key international trade hub between East and West.
The UAE’s main export commodities are crude oil, natural gas, re-exports, dried fish and dates. Its main import commodities are machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and food.
The UAE’s top 5 import partners are:1,2
| 1 | China 12.8% | Primary products: textile products, clothes, light industrial products, handicrafts, machinery and products made from gold, silver, copper, iron, tin. |
| 2 | India | Primary products: cotton, accessories, gems and jewelry, manmade yarn, fabrics, manufacturers of metals, cotton yarn, marine products, machinery and instruments, plastic and linoleum products, tea. |
| 3 | United States 8.7% | Primary products: transport equipment, machinery, computer & electronic products, primary metal manufacturing, chemicals. |
| 4 | Japan 6.1% | Primary products: transport equipment, electrical machinery, general machinery, foodstuff, raw materials, mineral fuels. |
| 5 | Germany 5.9% | Primary products: nachineries, electronics, chemical products, measurement and control technology, iron, steel. |
The UAE’s top 5 export partners are:1,2
| 1 | Japan 23.6% | Primary products: crude oil, aluminum. |
| 2 | South Korea 9.2% | Primary products: crude oil, petroleum products such as naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas, aluminum, copper. |
| 3 | Thailand 5.0% | Primary products: crude oil, scrap metal, gold and silver bar, chemicals. |
| 4 | India | Primary products: pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, gold, pulp and waste paper, sulphur and unroasted iron pyrites, metalifer ore and metal scrap, organic and inorganic chemicals. |
| 5 | Iran 3.8% | Primary products: gas, cigarettes, spare parts for machinery, telecommunications and radio apparatuses, auto teller machines, mobile phones, heavy machinery, banana. |
US Trade with the UAE
In 2009, the UAE was the largest export market for the United States in the Middle East and the 19th largest export market globally, ahead of Spain, Ireland and Indonesia. UAE exports to the United States rose by 53 percent between 2000 and 2009, from $971.7 million to $1.49 billion. While UAE imports of US goods decreased from 2008 to 2009, all of the US top 30 export markets saw a percentage drop and, overall from 2000 to 2009 UAE imports of US goods increased more than five-fold from $2.29 billion to $12.1 billion, as shown in the chart below. 3
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