Total trade exchange between UAE and US were $13.340 billion, making the US as the third most important world trading partner for UAE, according to figures released by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade. ‘'American goods imported to the UAE in 2008 were $12.246 billion and the corresponding American non-oil imports from the UAE were $175.7 million, while re-exports were worth $917.2 million which makes the total export $1092.9 billion and the trade deficit $11.154 billion,'' the report said. The Ministry of Foreign Trade aims, among its multiple objectives and activities, at enhancing the public and private sector's awareness about trade and investment regulation and restrictions in major UAE economic partners, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) country reports or studies, and eventually in other reliable sources of information .It is within this context that the Ministry's Department of Foreign Trade Policies has initiated a series of brief reports about the trade policy review regimes of its major trading partners. Mahmood Sharif Mahmood, director of the Foreign Trade Policies Department, said the first report of this new series, issued two week ago, dealt with India which is the UAE top trading partner. That was followed by a second weekly report on China, our second trading partner. The latest report is about trade and investment policy and regulation in the US which is the third trading partner. Mahmood stressed the importance of the information provided in this series for exporters and importers of goods as well of services. He added that this report should be looked at in light of the opportunities that the US market offers to the UAE exporting sectors, as well as of the importance of the UAE market as a gateway for US exports to the region. He also underlined the importance of this background information to thinking about the opportunity to sign a free trade agreement with the US. Mr. Mahmood reiterated that WTO Trade Policy Review Reports remain the most reliable source of information on trade and investment regulation and restrictions for any WTO member. In addition to a brief assessment of the volume of bilateral trade and its relative importance for the UAE, the report focuses on the partner's policy measures affecting its own imports and exports of goods and services, production activities as related to international trade, and foreign direct investment. A trade and investment Agreement between UAE and US has been signed to enhance economic and investment cooperation, and a free trade agreement might be signed in the future between the two countries. The US accorded most favored nation (MFN) tariff treatment to all WTO members except Cuba. All except two tariff lines are bound, generally at low rates, which lends predictability to the US trade regime. The simple average applied MFN tariff was 4.8 percent in 2007, virtually the same as in 2004 (4.9 percent). The applied MFN rate for agriculture (WTO definition) fell from 9.7 percent in 2004 to 8.9 percent in 2007, reflecting the rise in commodity prices and the resulting decline in the ad valorem equivalent rates. At 4 percent, the 2007 average applied MFN rate for non-agricultural products remained unchanged. Around 2 percent of all lines are subject to tariff quotas; high out-of-quota tariffs are one of the main forms of import protection for certain agricultural products. Non-tariff import restrictions are maintained largely for non-commercial purposes. This includes a ban on imports of marine mammal products, shrimp, and tuna from countries found not to be in compliance with US environmental provisions. Anti-dumping measures remain a key trade policy instrument for the US. At end 2007, the US maintained some 232 anti-dumping measures measures, down from 274 reported in its last review. At end 2007, the USmaintained no safeguard measures, but 31 countervailing (CV) orders were in place involving 13 trading partners.
