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Lebanon – 2007 Forecast Top Ten Manufactured U.S. Imports ($ Billion)

(SOURCE: IRmep)

Libya

“Today marks the opening of a new era in U.S.-Libya relations that will benefit Americans and Libyans alike.” With those words on May 15, 2006, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice restored full diplomatic relations with Libya.

After a two-decade absence from that North African nation, U.S. companies are anxious to explore business opportunities there. But competition will be stiff. U.S. exporters need to break into a market that primarily sources merchandise from Italy (21.5%), Germany (10.4%), Tunisia (5.6%), Turkey (4.9%), the UK (4.9%), France (4.8%), South Korea (4.7%), and China (4.6%).

The first U.S. companies to re-establish a presence in Libya, not surprisingly, have been energy firms. Libya, as the second largest oil producer in Africa after Nigeria, has proven petroleum reserves of 36 billion barrels – almost three percent of the known global total. But because only one-quarter of the country has been explored for oil and gas deposits, there may well be another 50 – 100 billion barrels in Libya waiting to be discovered. Libya’s development target is to boost oil production from the current 1.6 million bbl/d to 3 million bbl/d by 2015.

Under the circumstances, drilling and oilfield equipment shipments to Libya are multiplying. U.S. exports are on track to pass the half-billion dollar mark in 2007 and to satisfy 5 percent of total Libyan import demand.

According to Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC), that nation is also seeking investments of $3.5 billion for the development of petrochemical production, including polypropylene, benzene, and polyethylene. This and other demands will boost domestic power demand by 6 – 8 percent annually and will require an additionl $1 billion in electrical generation and transmission grid capacity, according to the General Electricity Company (GECOL).

Libya – 2007 Forecast Top Ten Manufactured U.S. Imports ($ Billion)

(SOURCE: IRmep)

U.S. companies are only now being reintroduced to the Libyan market, so four-year trends for individual export categories are not yet available. However, one-year annual growth rates in triple and quadruple digits suggest that U.S. industrial goods for energy development are poised for sustained growth.

Bahrain

In January 2006, President George W. Bush signed the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, making Bahrain the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nation to achieve that distinction. Being first in the region has given Bahrain some comparative and competitive advantages over its neighbors, and Bahrain’s leadership has been quick to exploit those opportunities. In part because of the FTA and the confidence that an FTA engenders, U.S. exports to Bahrain jumped nearly 40 percent in 2006 to half a billion dollars.

In November 2006, the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bahrain’s FTA Implementation Committee, under the auspices of the Economic Development Board (EDB), to promote closer commercial relations with America’s private sector. »