U.S. goods exports to the 22 nations of the Arab world increased from $65.91 billion in 2012 to $70.85 billion in 2013, an increase of 7.51 percent and the highest single - According to new U.S. Government data analyzed by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), 2013 was another record-breaking year for U.S. merchandise exports to the Arab world.
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Based on just-released 2013 data and revised 2012 figures provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. goods exports to the 22 nations of the Arab world increased from $65.91 billion in 2012 to $70.85 billion in 2013, an increase of 7.51 percent and the highest single-year sales volume ever. By comparison, total U.S. merchandise exports to the world increased by only 2.09 percent, from $1.546 trillion in 2012 to $1.579 trillion in 2013.
The largest category of goods exported was Transportation Equipment, including commercial aircraft, which constituted $ 26.31 billion (37.1 percent) of total U.S. goods shipped to the Arab world. Other "Top Five" export sectors included Non-Electrical Machinery ($8.63 billion, 12.2 percent), Computer & Electronic Products ($6.52 billion, 9.2 percent), Chemicals ($3.96 billion, 5.6 percent), and Food & Kindred Products ($3.38 billion, 4.8 percent).
As in previous years, importing countries were led by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, particularly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which together accounted for $43.6 billion – well over half of all U.S. merchandise exports to the Arab world (61.5 percent).
The GCC nations – which have largely been shielded from the disruptions of the Arab Spring – continued to drive U.S. exports to the region, accounting for 75.7 percent of total sales of goods to the 22 countries of the Arab world.
Egypt retained its position as the third largest Arab market for U.S. goods, despite a drop in sales of nearly five percent, probably attributable to political unrest in that nation. As last year, Qatar and Kuwait filled out the remaining "Top Five" importing nations. The "Second Five" tier of importing nations included Iraq and the four Free Trade Agreement nations in the Arab world: Morocco, Jordan, Oman and Bahrain. ■