Official data released on Wednesday showed that Saudi imports from the UAE had dropped in value by 33% month on month in July. This came after Saudi Arabia imposed new trade rules earlier in the month with regard to imports from other Gulf nations.
Imports from the UAE fell from 4.6 billion riyals in June to 3.1 billion riyals in July. This marks a 6% decrease in imports on a year-on-year basis.
Earlier in July, the Kingdom decided to amend its rules on imports from other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This sees the exclusion of goods made in free zones or those manufactured with Israeli input. The decision is being viewed as a move for Saudi Arabia to wrestle control from the UAE as the region’s business and trade hub.
Another exclusion from Saudi’s rules includes goods made by companies where the workforce is comprised of less than 25% of local workers. This poses a large problem for UAE-based companies, which are known to heavily rely on foreign workers.
On the contrary, Saudi exports in July surged by 79.6% on a year-on-year basis, with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic slowing fading away. The main driver of the increase was oil exports, which skyrocketed by 112.1% from the same period during the previous year.
