H.E. Sultan Bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), received US Consul General Philip Frayne alongside a high-profile delegation. They discussed boosting bilateral trade between Dubai and the Unites States during an Ertebaat Business Breakfast meeting held at Dubai Customs headquarters, in the presence of Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, as well as representatives of major US businesses based in Dubai, and senior executives from Dubai Customs.
Bin Sulayem said: “We are guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, towards incentivizing foreign investments to boost trade and economic growth and help overcome the geopolitical challenges facing global trade.
“The United States is a strategic trade partner for Dubai, ranking as third biggest trading partner with AED 19.5 billion worth of trade in the first quarter of this year, a strong growth of 10% from AED 17.7 billion in 1Q last year.”
Ahmed Mahboob Musabih said trade relations between Dubai and the US have seen an upward trend, with bilateral trade jumping 76% over ten years from AED 45.9 billion in 2009 to AED 80.65 billion in 2018.
Director General of Dubai Customs pointed out that Dubai Customs was providing extensive customs facilitations 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 U.S. 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 AED 14.87 billion of Dubai-US trade in 1Q 2019, while exports totaled 1.3 billion and re-exports AED 3.33 billion. Top high-value goods traded were cars, aircraft engines, gold and aluminium.
During the meeting, it was reported that 471 US trademarks are currently registered with Dubai Customs IPR Department. There were around 20 IP-infringement cases involving US brands. The counterfeit items seized in 16 cases of US trademarks violations were recycled in 2018 as part of Counterfeits Destruction Service launched by Dubai Customs in cooperation with the Brand Owners Protection Group.
Other topics discussed included the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program and its benefits for international businesses members of the program, as well as Dubai Customs’ development efforts to facilitate e-commerce in cooperation with key players in cross-border online trading.