The US ranks as the third-biggest trading partner for Dubai, with Dh19.5 billion ($5.3 billion) worth of trade in the first quarter of this year, a growth of 10 percent from Dh 17.7 billion in Q1 last year, said a top official.
Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group chairman, and CEO and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) was speaking during a meeting with US Consul-General Philip Frayne and Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, director-general of Dubai Customs, reported Emirates news agency Wam.
Musabih said trade relations between Dubai and the US have seen an upward trend, with bilateral trade jumping 76 percent over ten years from Dh45.9 billion in 2009 to Dh80.65 billion in 2018.
He pointed out that the Custom’s authority was providing extensive customs facilitation to boost trade with the US and enable US traders and businesses to get real value from their trading through Dubai.
“US traders and exhibitors will be able to benefit from a dedicated smart channel to clear their goods coming to Expo 2020,” he said.
The US Consul-General thanked Dubai Customs for organizing the business meeting which supports the growing two-way trade between the UAE and the United States. He commended the meeting as an excellent opportunity for boosting cooperation and simplifying procedures to ensure continued trade growth into the future.
According to bilateral trade statistics report presented in the meeting, imports accounted for Dh14.87 billion of Dubai-US trade in Q1 2019, while exports totaled 1.3 billion and re-exports Dh3.33 billion. Top high-value goods traded were cars, aircraft engines, gold, and aluminum.
Meeting attendees learned that 471 US trademarks are currently registered with the Dubai Customs IPR Department. Also revealed, were around 20 IP-infringement cases involving US brands. The counterfeit items seized in 16 cases of US trademark violations were recycled in 2018 as part of Counterfeits Destruction Service launched by Dubai Customs in cooperation with the Brand Owners Protection Group.
Other agenda items discussed during the meeting included the Authorised Economic Operator, AEO, program, and benefits for its international business members, as well as Dubai Customs’ development efforts to facilitate e-commerce in cooperation with key players in cross-border online trading.
TradeArabia News Service
02/10/2019
