United Arab Emirates
Principal exports
Crude oil, natural gas, re-exports, dried fish, and
dates.
Documentation
Imports
Bill of landing, certificate of origin,
commercial invoice, customs import
declaration and a packing list.
Exports
Bill of lading, certificate of origin, commercial
invoice and a customs export declaration.
Licences
Imports
Importers to the UAE must be licensed and
can only import the good specified under the
terms of their individual licence.
Exports
None.
Tariffs/Taxes
Imports
Tariffs on imports are set in line with the
GCC Customs Union. This sets a maximum
tariff of 5 percent for most goods imported
from outside the GCC. However, certain
goods such as alcohol (125 percent) and
tobacco (100 percent) are subject to much
higher tariffs. Duties on quantity and weight
may also lead to higher tariffs.
Tariffs are not applied to imports within the
GCC.
Exports
None.
Financing requirements for imports/
exports
None.
Prohibited items
Imports
Any company blacklisted by the Arab League
is not permitted to import products into the
UAE. Other imports may be prohibited for
moral, health, environmental, foreign policy
and national security reasons.
Imports from Israel are also prohibited.
Exports
Exports to Israel are prohibited.
UAE imports exports
Trade information
Key trading partners
Imports by origin
EU 15.7%
India 12.5%
China 7.5%
USA 6.2%
Japan 4.3%
Other 53.8%
Source: WTO, September 2012
Exports by destination
India 11.0%
Iran 4.7%
Iraq 2.3%
Switzerland 2.2%
EU 1.9%
Other 77.9%