The US maintains a trade surplus in goods with most of the Gulf states. The trend partly reflects efforts by the Trump administration to sell more military hardware and commercial aircraft to these markets.

As far the as US is concerned, the highest trade surplus is with the UAE, at $15.7 billion in 2017 and $6.7 billion during the first-half of this year. This underscores the openness of the UAE economy.

Conversely, the biggest deficit for the US with any Gulf country is with Saudi Arabia. The trade balance in the kingdom’s favour amounted to $2.5 billion in 2017, and going above $3 billion in the first six months of this year. Saudi Arabia is second only to Canada in exporting crude to the US, which helps explain the balance of trade position.

Certainly, the US is a leading oil producer itself on the back of shale oil production. Yet, it needs to import to meet domestic demand.

In trade with Qatar, a surplus of more than $1.9 billion was registered for the US in 2017, and sustained by a surplus of just above $1 billion in the first-half of 2018. Turning to Kuwait, the US recorded a surplus of $2.2 billion last year, but dropped to $181 million in the January to June period this year.

This is a reflection of the difficulty in convincing Kuwait to place new orders. The decision-making process in Kuwait is unique thanks to the presence of a powerful parliament determined to exercise oversight of state practices.

The US maintains a comfortable surplus in trade of goods with Oman, at $918 million in 2017. Another notable surplus of $661 million was registered during the first-half of 2018.

Bahrain enjoyed a surplus of $98 million in trade between the two countries in 2017, but that tilted into a surplus of $335 million in favour of the US in the first six months of 2018, and something likely to increase by year-end.

The US enjoys surplus in the services account by virtue of having an advantage through the transfer of knowledge and expertise in big-ticket industries. It is likely to strengthen its status with the GCC at large in line with the positions taken by the Trump Administration.

There is displeasure within some diplomatic circles in the GCC, as contracts increasingly go the US way. One foreign diplomat confessed to me about the unease at his mission in the current environment, as firms from his country face difficulty securing commercial contracts for his country. He attributed the matter to what he termed as doing business oversees in Trump’s era. This phenomenon is likely to continue a while.

Dr Jasim Ali is a Member of Parliament in Bahrain.