JEDDAH: Trade between the United States and the Arab world is set to hit $117 billion within the next two years, led by exports to the UAE, a National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, a trade body that represents American businesses in the Arab world, report said. US exports to the Arab world hit a record high of nearly $68 billion in 2010, and total demand from the region is set to exceed $1 trillion by the end 2013, the NUSACC said. "For the first time, more than one million direct and indirect American jobs will be created or sustained by US exports to the Arab world," said David Hamod, president of NUSACC. "The MENA region is poised to play a key role in America's efforts to generate employment here at home through exports." By 2013, those figures are expected to reach $35.59 billion, the NUSACC report said, far outstripping the next largest importer, Saudi Arabia. Exports to the Kingdom are expected to reach $26.48 billion, with Egypt ($10.6 billion), Iraq ($8.53 billion) and Kuwait ($6.06 billion) rounding out America's top five trade partners. The UAE has led imports from the US, with growth jumping by 16.75 percent from $19.04 billion in 2009, to $22.23 billion in 2010. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade said more than 29 percent of goods imported from the US are churned out to the wider MENA region. When combined with its energy shipments, this makes the UAE the thirteenth largest goods exporter worldwide (excluding intra-EU trade), the report said. The UAE's leading imports are US aerospace products and services. Flag carriers Etihad and Emirates have a combined total order book of $49.1 billion, the report said. "Since 2006, major UAE airlines - Emirates Airlines and Etihad - have emerged as serious global competitors to established carriers in Europe and the Americas," the report said. In Egypt, meanwhile, amid instability brought about by ongoing protest, lower private consumption, a drop in foreign investments and higher unemployment are expected to hurt economic performance. Egypt's economy was worth an estimated $217 billion last year, half of Saudi Arabia, and relies on foreign investments, tourism and Suez Canal fees, but faces challenges such as poverty, high unemployment of at least 10 percent - but many suggest the real figure is much higher - and stubborn inflation. Some analysts warn that the central bank could raise borrowing costs.
