Dubai: The United States should bolster free trade and not try to restrict international commerce in its goods and services, a top Dubai official said.
"If the US is looking to improve trade relations with the UAE, they should extend credit facilities to companies and not sell products with restrictions," Juma Al Majid, chairman of the Dubai Economic Council and a leading UAE businessman, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview.
He also proposed that US credits to companies should be guaranteed by UAE banks.
Al Majid opposed moves by the US to control trade in its goods to countries which have been targeted with trade restrictions. "The US should not sell us products and then restrict us from exporting them to any country. The US should not sell such products to merchants, they should keep them in their market if they will impose restrictions on those merchants later on. The [US] can't impose restrictions on open markets."
Al Majid emphasised that the UAE is an open market and Dubai is an international trading city. It is not right for merchants to be questioned once they have exported their goods as it would be difficult for them to trace the products, he said. The UAE had always worked hard to eliminate barriers to international commerce, he observed.
He pointed out that Dubai and the US enjoyed exceptional commercial relations with a huge volume of transactions between them. The UAE re-exports nearly 70 per cent of products imported from around the world, he said. "If the US wants its products to stay in the UAE market and increase their trade volume with the UAE, they should help [facilitate the import and export or their goods]," he added.
Consul general's visit
Al Majid's comment follow a recent visit by US Consul General Justin H. Siberell to the Dubai Economic Council. The US is trying to boost its economy by increasing its exports around the world.
Recently US President Barack Obama announced a five-year push to double exports, saying the initiative would support two million jobs. Obama's National Export Initiative aims to: expand trade advocacy, improve access to credit, especially for small and medium-sized businesses; and rigorously enforce international trade laws.
Al Majid described the Obama initiative as a chance for both countries to derive benefits and pointed out that improving access to credit wasthe key to the success of the initiative. "We need the right tools to make it happen and [credit facilities] are one of these."
The international financial crisis has resulted in a credit crunch which has made it difficult for small- and medium-sized companies to secure financing for goods to trade. By providing companies with credit facilities, the US can increase demand for its goods among companies in the UAE, he said. "This would be very helpful and [serve] as a guarantee for the importer and exporter." He added: "Developing exports will create a lot of job opportunities for Americans, who in turn will pay back the government [through] taxes as employees."
