The UAE and US share a dynamic economic partnership, built on trade, investment and innovation. In 2025, bilateral trade reached $39 billion, with the US recording a $23.8 billion trade surplus. The UAE’s total direct investment in the US now exceeds $1 trillion—a significant contribution to the American economy. The UAE is also on track to invest an additional $1.4 trillion in the US over the next decade.
For over five decades, the UAE–US relationship has evolved to meet new challenges and opportunities. Today, the partnership is focused on the technologies and infrastructure that will define the 21st century—artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors, space exploration and the energy systems to power them.
Partners in a Globalized World
2025 marked a turning point in UAE–US economic relations, defined by historic investment commitments, rapid expansion of AI cooperation and ongoing strength in trade. The UAE’s ten-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework advances the partnership across economic, technological and industrial domains.
UAE investments support local economies and jobs across all 50 states, with a focus on high-impact sectors like semiconductors, energy, critical minerals and aerospace.
A Growing Trade and Investment Relationship
The volume of US exports and foreign direct investment into the UAE in recent years has grown dramatically. This growth reflects the increasingly diversified UAE economy as well as the country's strong economic relationship with the US.
- The UAE is the United States’ single largest export market in the Middle East, with $31.4 billion in exports in 2024— the 17th straight year the UAE has held this distinction.
- The US trade surplus with the UAE was $23.8 billion in 2025, the largest surplus in UAE-US trade history, the largest in the MENA region and the fourth largest globally.
- The UAE has trade relations with every state in the United States, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, supporting job creation and local economic growth.
- The UAE pegs its currency, the dirham, to the dollar.
- More than 1,500 US firms have a presence in the UAE, from Boeing and IBM to Microsoft and Google.
- The UAE and US launched the Economic Policy Dialogue (EPD) in 2012, serves as an annual platform to strengthen economic, trade and commercial ties.
- The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, established in 2007, supports the expansion of commercial relationships through business-to-business initiatives.