UAE economy suffering from anti-Iran sanctions: UAE traders

Prominent Emirati merchants say US-engineered sanctions against Iran over its nuclear energy program have had adverse effects on the UAE economy.
During a high-level meeting between Emirati and American trade officials in Abu Dhabi on March 27, the UAE business community said it has been disadvantaged by rigorously applying sanctions against Iran and has lost trade to other countries, English-language newspaper The National reported.

“We discussed Iran in a private meeting. The UAE is the 18th largest trading partner of the USA, and we value the relationship…but the interests of the UAE business community must also be taken into consideration,” Abdul Aziz al-Ghurair, a senior Dubai businessman, said.

Official statistics published earlier this week showed that trade between Dubai and Iran have fallen by nearly one-third from 36 billion dirhams (USD 9.8 billion) in 2011 to 25 billion dirhams (USD 6.8 billion) last year.

Financial restrictions, imposed as part of the US-led sanction against the Islamic Republic, have made all types of trade more difficult.