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Corn, Soybean account for 90 percent of US exports to Syria
10 March 2008
The Syria Report
The US Census Bureau has published a detailed breakdown of US-Syrian bilateral trade in 2007.
Trade between the two countries rose to USD 472 million last year, an annual increase of 7.7 percent.
American exports rose by 61 percent to USD 361 million. However, two products only accounted for 90 percent of this total, Corn and Soybeans.
Since 2004 and the adoption of the Syria Accountability Act, there are strict restrictions on US exports to Syria. In practice the SAA bans the export to Syria of all products that contain more than 10 percent American-manufactured components, except for food, medical supplies, and components for the safety of flights and telecommunication equipment, which are excluded from the prohibition list.
A consequence of this is that the number of items exported has fallen from 100 in 2003, the last full year before the sanctions, to 45 last year.
Meanwhile, Syrian exports to the US fell to USD 110 million in 2007, the lowest figure in 5 years. The SAA does not include any restriction on imports from Syria.
One single item, fuel oil, accounts for 65 percent of all American purchases of Syrian products. The only four other trade items of relative importance are cotton apparel and household goods, cotton and natural fibres, tea and spices, and antiques.
Hence, three items (corn, soybeans and fuel oil) account for over 85 percent of all bilateral trade between the two countries.
Syria posted a trade deficit of USD 250 million last, from USD 10.5 million in 2006 and a trade surplus of USD 168 million in 2005
Syrian imports from the US (2005-2007; USD, thousands)
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
Corn
| 100,339 | 145,728 | 256,187 |
Soybeans
| 28,160
| 54,815
| 71,451
|
Agricultural materials for farming
| 6,128
| 5,813
| 10,831
|
Animal feeds
| 3,615
| 823
| 6,727
|
Total, incl. others
| 155,049 | 224,315 | 361,420 |
Source: US Census Bureau
Note: Items listed as per 5-digit end-use code
Syrian exports to the US (2005-2007; USD, thousands)
| 2005
| 2006
| 2007
|
Fuel Oil
| 239,213
| 100,473
| 72,715
|
Artwork, antiques
| 1,947
| 2,414
| 7,473
|
Tea, spices, and preparations
| 8,743
| 6,052
| 6,172
|
Apparel & household goods-cotton
| 7,619
| 5,356
| 6,019
|
Cotton, wool & other natural fibres
| 3,238
| 1,046
| 4,706
|
Total, incl. others
| 323,599 | 213,790 | 110,539
|
Source: US Census Bureau
Note: Items listed as per 5-digit end-use code
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