Consistency paves route for secure commerce

The UAE and U.S. have time-tested relations, and their economic amalgamation has grown over the period of years. Their ties reflect the increasingly diversified UAE economy and its leading role as a modernising influence in the Arab world, while dealing with the world at large. The scope of cooperation is unlimited, ranging from civilian nuclear energy, crude oil, direct foreign investments and automobiles to food, beverages, electronics and accessories of daily life. Aluminium, mineral fuel, fertilisers and precious stones are among major UAE exports, alongside select agricultural products.

The UAE is the U.S.' single largest export market in the Middle East, with more than $22 billion in exports in 2016. Similarly, the U.S. had a $19 billion trade surplus with the UAE, that is, the third largest trade surplus globally. Stability and consistency are prime factors, apart from visionary leadership, that help the UAE buoy its cooperation with the lone superpowers year after year. The UAE's trade relations are not restricted to the mainland, and extend to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands across the Atlantic.

Trade and economic ties are organic and rationale. The UAE has pegged its currency to the U.S. dollar, and this factor has ushered in stability in economic and financial policies. The level of confidence is at its best, as more than 1,500 American companies have a presence in the UAE, spanning all walks of economy from high technology to managerial concerns. Through significant investments in the U.S. in the last three decades, the UAE has been a dependable and long-term contributor to the U.S. economy. Their salient features are providing liquidity to the U.S. capital markets, investments for companies, and intermittent job security for the American workforce. Moreover, the UAE's role in nuclear technology cooperation and energy supplies is exemplary, and a hallmark of model relations between two diversely populated countries that are thousands of miles apart from each other.

Institutional arrangements, such as the U.S.-UAE Business Council, a number of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs), and strategic partnerships at the official level helps propel political, trade, economic, and research and development relationships between the two countries to new heights. The U.S. is primarily an ardent supporter of the UAE's strategy for energy diversification, and a number of deals and investments in clean energy is testimony to it. An outstanding example is the UAE's renewable energy leadership, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE, by all means, is a catalyst in buoying the U.S. economy, and it is no small achievement for a such a young country in the Middle East. With a robust trade relationship and economic amalgamations, both countries have many new ventures in the pipeline. The benefits of open market economy and free trade are of tremendous value, and stringent regulations to provide a level playing field makes the difference.
If statistics are any criterion, the U.S. has one of its fastest-growing trade relationships with the UAE. The country's total bilateral trade grew from approximately $5.22 billion in 2004 to $25.7 billion in 2016. It is a quantum leap ahead, taking into account the global economic downslide and upheavals in this part of the world. The numbers speak for themselves, as over the past 10 years (2006-2016), U.S. exports to the UAE grew by 11.8 per cent, surpassing $22 billion in 2016. Similarly, the UAE was named the largest export market for U.S. goods and services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) in 2016, a distinction held for the eighth consecutive year, according to the Embassy of the UAE in Washington DC.

Bilateral relations between the UAE and U.S. also covers the defence field. The UAE purchased more than $20 billion of military equipment and arms over the last 10 years, including one of the world's largest non-U.S. F-16 fleets.

With more than 35,000 Americans residing in the UAE, and a robust aviation connecting the two countries with more than 100 direct flights to the U.S., trade and economic equation is poised for a higher altitude. Moreover, Expo 2020 is likely to lift their level of cooperation and further cement their economic reliance into new horizons of indispensability.

Source: Khaleej Times