Sun, 11 May 2025

Sun, 11 May 2025 Trump heads to Saudi Arabia eyeing more investment in US

As the president goes to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE he wants them to buy more from the States.

* The visit by US President Donald Trump to Gulf states will focus on securing significant new investment for the US economy.
* Economist Karen Young says Trump wants to announce large-scale investments from Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
* The economic importance of the region is highlighted by the fact that Saudi Arabia was Trump's first foreign trip during his first term in office.
* Securing new investments will help Trump signal that his "America First" agenda is delivering results.
* A number of economic agreements are expected to be signed during the trip, including deals on military equipment and joint ventures.
* Saudi Arabia has already committed to investing $600bn in the US over the next years, but Trump wants this figure to rise to $1tn.
* The UAE has also committed to investing $1.4tn in the US over 10 years, with a focus on sectors such as AI, semiconductors, and energy.
* However, economist Karen Young says that these figures are not realistic in the short term and should be taken "with a little bit of a grain of salt".
* Saudi Arabia is expected to agree to buy more than $100bn of US arms and military equipment during Trump's visit.
* The US has been a longstanding arms supplier to Saudi Arabia, but sales were suspended by the Biden administration in 2021 due to concerns over human rights abuses.
* The UAE and Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in tech and AI sectors as they try to diversify their economies away from oil.
* The Trump administration has scrapped chip regulations that restricted exports of advanced US chips to more than 120 countries, including the Gulf states.
* Saudi Arabia is focused on drawing American investment into its ambitious Vision 2030 program, which involves pouring resources into entertainment, tourism, mining, and sports.
  >>