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Export Market

United Arab Emirates

ISO: AE / ARE

Country Profile

Capital Abu Dhabi
Population 11.3M
GDP $552.3B (2024)
GDP per Capita $50,274
Income Level High Income
Currency United Arab Emirates dirham (AED د.إ)
Language Arabic
Timezone UTC+04:00
Region Asia · Western Asia

Trade Partners

United Arab Emirates Exports To

  • China 11.0%
  • India 11.0%
  • Japan 10.0%
  • Iraq 6.0%
  • Thailand 4.0%

Key exports: crude petroleum, refined petroleum, gold, broadcasting equipment, natural gas (2023)

United Arab Emirates Imports From

  • China 19.0%
  • India 7.0%
  • USA 6.0%
  • Turkey 4.0%
  • Japan 4.0%

Key imports: gold, broadcasting equipment, cars, refined petroleum, diamonds (2023)

Economic Overview

high-income, oil-driven Middle Eastern economy; fastest GDP growth of Gulf states; diversification through tourism, construction, and services; strong foreign direct investment orientation; continued government investment and business-friendly reforms

Government: federation of monarchies

UK Trade Status

No FTA

There is currently no free trade agreement between the UK and United Arab Emirates. Standard WTO terms apply.

Trade Barriers

4 active barriers affecting UK exporters

Lack of recognition of UK professional qualifications

Some UK professional qualifications, such as Chartered status are not recognised by the UAE Ministry of Education which may cause issues for businesses looking to hire UK trained candidates.

Sectors: Education and training

Reported: 30 Apr 2021

UAE accepts new Seafood Export Health Certificate

A new Electronic Health Certificate is in place that declare UK waters and in turn seafood exports are free of Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS) and therefore can now continue to be exported to the UAE.

Sectors: Agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and pets

Reported: 28 May 2020

UK exporters need to have a local partner for companies established outside of Freezones in UAE

A company trading outside of UAE Freezones is required to have a 49% expatriate and 51% resident shareholder split. A presidential decree was passed in November 2020, which allows companies in some sectors to operate whilst being 100% foreign owned. …

Reported: 19 Apr 2020

Inconsistent application of intellectual property rights and regulations

Through the issuance of Decree 321, Intellectual Property (IP) protection for pharmaceutical products has seen progress. However, previously there has been inconsistent application of IP protection as UAE have insisted that innovation that innovator companies start filing for national patents, …

Sectors: Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology

Reported: 13 May 2019

Geographic Region

Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan

Trading Bloc Memberships

United Arab Emirates is a member of the following trade agreements and economic blocs.

GCC Gulf Cooperation Council Economic Union

Export Guidance

Relevant guidance for exporting to United Arab Emirates.

Start Your Export Journey

Export to the EU after Brexit Start exporting from the UK Manage your export compliance

Also in This Region

🇦🇫 Afghanistan 🇧🇭 Bahrain 🇮🇷 Iran 🇮🇶 Iraq 🇮🇱 Israel FTA 🇯🇴 Jordan FTA 🇰🇼 Kuwait 🇱🇧 Lebanon FTA

Official Resources

Government export support for United Arab Emirates.

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