Qatar-US bilateral trade has witnessed a remarkable achievement registering sharp and steady growth. Within the first nine months of this year, both the countries have traded goods worth more than that was exchanged during the whole year of 2017.
The combined value of Qatar-US trade in goods during the first nine months (January-September) of 2018 reached $4.54bn (QR16.53bn), which is higher compared to $4.32bn (QR15.73bn) for the full year in 2017.
On a quarterly basis, the bilateral trade volume in goods between Qatar and the world’s largest economy surged to $1.78bn (QR6.48bn) in Q3, 2018, up by 21.9 percent compared to $1.46bn (QR5.31bn) recorded in the previous quarter (Q2, 2018).
When compared with the same quarter of last year (Q3, 2017) the trade volume in goods increased by 45.9 percent against $1.22bn (QR4.44bn) registered in Q3, 2017.
The trade balance (the difference of the value of total exports and imports of goods), which was in favor of the US, reached $2.07bn (QR7.53bn) during the first nine months of this year.
The value of total US exports to Qatar until September 2018 touched $3.30bn (QR12.01bn) and imports from Qatar stood at $1.23bn (QR4.47bn), latest online data released by the US Census Bureau show.
Despite the economic situation and other challenges, Qatar-US bilateral trade in goods witnessed sharp and steady growth, especially during the first six months of this year.
The value of two-way trade exchange in goods during the H1, 2018 jumped to QR9.61bn ($2.64bn), registering a double-digit growth of about 64 percent compared to QR5.86bn ($1.61bn) recorded in the corresponding period last year (H1, 2017).
Bilateral trade volume in goods between Qatar and the US peaked in 2014 to touch $6.91bn (QR25.16bn) with US exports to Qatar at $5.17bn and imports at $1.74bn. The US trade surplus with Qatar in 2014 reached at $3.43bn.
The transportation equipment, including aircraft, accounts for the majority of US exports to Qatar.
US exports to Qatar constitute a major part of the local economy; while the US continues to heavily export advanced technologies such as commercial aircraft, vehicles, heavy equipment, satellite, and communications equipment.
The US companies also provide key management and technical services in engineering, education, and environment technologies to Qatar.
Almost every major construction and infrastructure project in Qatar is currently being managed or supervised by an American engineering firm. Furthermore, six of the seven major universities in Education City are American universities.
The US is a leading investor in Qatar’s oil and gas sector helping produce more than two-thirds of the country’s LNG output.
The bilateral trade and economic cooperation are to reach new highs with a significant jump in trade volumes in the coming years as both sides are working very closely and aggressively to expand and deepen the relationship in new areas, including more cooperation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector.
The business cooperation in the SMEs sector has great untapped potential as the current level of cooperation in this sector is very limited.
The Peninsula
19/11/2018
