U.S.-GCC Trade
U.S.-GCC trade - Gulf Cooperation Council - includes sidebar article: Doing Business in the GCC
by Claude Clement and Karen Sasahara | Sept 1, 1986
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries ranked as the ninth largest market for U.S. goods in 1985. In that year, the United States maintained a favorable balance of trade with all GCC member nations except the United Arab Emirates (see table on following page). Here are summaries of U.S.-GCC trade by country.
Bahrain: U.S. imports from Bahrain increased from $30 million in 1982 to $90 million in 1985. The leading U.S. imports from Bahrain in the last three years have been unwrought aluminum and related aluminum products ($30 million in 1984), naphthas ($11 million), and motor fuel ($8 million). U.S. imports appear to be diversifying slightly; small amounts of products such as electrical switches, electrical measuring equipment, floor coverings, and some apparel items entered the United States in 1984. U.S. exports to Bahrain, which declined from $214 million in 1982 to $107 million in 1985, included filtering equipment, petroleum coke, mechanical shovels, air conditioners, aircraft, and computers.
Kuwait: In 1985, the United States imported $198 million worth of products from Kuwait, about 94 percent of which was crude petroleum. Other Kuwaiti export products, though not significant in trade value, appear to be coming on stream. These include parts for office machines, jewelry, electrical switches, textile products such as towels and carpets, and leather products. U.S. exports to Kuwait, valued at $551 million in 1985, are diverse. Leading items include cigarettes, aircraft and parts, passenger cars and trucks, engines, construction equipment, computers, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, and wheat and barley.
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Oman: As in the case of Kuwait, petroleum represents virtually the only U.S. import of significance from Oman during the past several years--about 96 percent of the total, valued at $51 million in 1985. Although U.S. petroleum imports from Oman have declined in recent years, all other products were imported in values of less than $1 million; they included parts for office machines, shellfish, waste and scrap, pneumatic tires, jewelry of precious metals, and elevators, hoists, and winches. U.S. exports to Oman have remained roughly the same over the last few years; in 1985 they were valued at $161 million. As with other GCC trading partners, these exports were primarily air conditioners, television apparatus, measuring instruments, engine parts, tobacco products, trucks and cars, and floor coverings.
Qatar: Total U.S. imports from Qatar were $18 million in 1985, composed mostly of petroleum and related products (98.7 percent in 1984). Imports from 1982 to 1984 declined by more than half; imports last year declined another 64.7 percent. U.S. exports to Qatar in 1985, valued at $64 million, consisted of automobiles and other transportation equipment, textiles, and consumer products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and computers.
Saudi Arabia: U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia, heavily concentrated in petroleum and related products, totaled a little more than $2 billion in 1985. Some recent diversification of our imports from the Kingdom includes steel products, aircraft parts, unwrought aluminum, and electrical switches. This diversification trend is expected to continue as Saudi Arabia's two new petrochemical complexes at Jubail and Yanbu begin to produce for world markets. U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia are varied; they include aircraft and aircraft parts, measuring equipment, rice, tobacco products, cars, ships, trucks, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, medical equipment and services, operations and maintenance services, and computers and peripherals.
United Arab Emirates: U.S. imports from the UAE include petroleum and unwrought aluminum. From 1982 to 1984, U.S. imports declined significantly, varying from $2.1 billion in 1982, $542 million in 1983, $1.2 billion in 1984, and $722 million in 1985. U.S. exports to the UAE are composed primarily of mechanical shovels, film, filtering equipment, radiotelegraphics, cigarettes, and air conditioners.
Table: U.S.-GCC TRADE, 1985
COPYRIGHT 1986 U.S. Government Printing Office
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