Part Four: International

Chris Monsour

Chuck Stull

Economics of Global Travelers

25 April 2014

1. International Trade (What? How much? To whom? From whom?)

The UAE and India are each other's main trading partners. India has many of its citizens working and living within the UAE. Just between the UAE in India, annual trade is in excess of $75 billion. Main import partners of the UAE are India with 17% of the import trade, China with 13.7%, the United States with 10.5%, Germany with 5.1%, and Japan with 4.2%. Import goods include machinery, chemicals, food, and transport equipment. The main exports of the UAE include crude oil, natural gas, dried fish, and dates. The countries that the UAE exports to in large include Japan taking 15.4% of UAE exports, India with 13.4%, Iran with 10.7%, Thailand with 5.5%, Singapore with 5.5%, and South Korea with 5.3%.

A) Exports: Exports totaled to over $314 billion in 2012, which made the UAE the second largest exporter in the Middle East.
B) Imports: Imports totaled to over $273.5 billion in 2012. The UAE recently surpassed Saudi Arabia as the largest consumer market in the Middle East.

2. Exchange Rate (Curent Value, Recent History)
Current FX Rate: USD/AED= $1/3.67 Dirham
AED has been depreciating to the USD in recent history, however much of the AED volatility has ceased post-2010.

3. Immigration/Emigration (From where? To where? How much?)
16.6% of the UAE population is Emirati while 23% of the population is composed of other Arabs. 42.3% of the population is from South Asia, 12.1% of the population is from other Asian countries, and 6% are expatriates. Emigration is not very common in the UAE, however Emirati citizens will often go to Asian countries such as Singapore or Malaysia. The UAE is a very diverse country which consists of people from all over the world, primarily from Asia and other Arabic countries.

4. Relations with other countries (Recent or Historical Conflicts/Allies)
The UAE has a liberal climate towards foreign cooperation, investment, and modernization has aided in diplomatic and commercial relations with other countries around the world. The UAE has a very crucial role in OPEC and the UN. The UAE is also one of the founding members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The closest ally countries in the region to the UAE are Pakistan and Egypt. When Iran threatened to close off critical shipping lanes to and from the UAE due to Israeli/USA conflict, the UAE found a way around Iran's threats to continue aiding the US in trade. Iran and the UAE have and have had mixed relations. The UAE is generally a welcomed country all around the world and is important in world trading.