The National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC) is an American, not-for-profit organization with a membership that consists of both US and Arab businesses, from market leaders to small and medium-sized businesses. The mission of the NUSACC is to promote, support and strengthen US-Arab business and economic cooperation.
NUSACC is regularly called upon to assist the US government, as well as individual Arab countries, in promoting economic cooperation. Over the past 35 years, NUSACC has backed a variety of outreach initiatives. Throughout the US and Arab world, NUSACC sponsors conferences and seminars where experts address specific economic and business strategies for investment and trade in the region.
Last month, NUSACC posted at their website, www.nusacc.org, a report, “The Impact of US Visa Policies: Implications for America’s Economy.” The report notes that more the restrictive US visa policies implemented in the last three years appear to be having the direct impact of costing the American economy nearly $1.5 billion in annual revenues from the Arab world. That includes business in general (minus $400 million), academia (minus $50 million), culture, the arts, medicine and health care (minus $500 million) and travel and tourism (minus $500 million). This figure climbs to more than $5 billion when all services and indirect revenues are figured in.
Because of a lack of reliable data, the report does not address the loss of new investments or disinvestment by the Arab world, which would add billions more to US revenue losses.
Equally significant, the report suggests, is the fact that the US is now losing thousands of Arab students each year to other nations. As a result, the next generation of Arab leaders is less likely to have studied in the US and to have gained any appreciation for American institutions and culture. NUSACC believes that this will have long-term implications for US-Arab relations.