But the new UN sanctions may very well change this.
The sanctions were approved by a 12-to-2 vote on Wednesday.
Lebanon abstained, Turkey and Brazil voted against the sanctions, and all the
permanent members of the Security Council - including the United States,
France, the United Kingdom, Russia and China - voted in favor.
The sanctions are the latest round in the standoff between
the United States and Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program.
"China-UAE trade is a lot about re-export that goes to
Iran," David Butter, regional director for the Middle East and North
Africa with the Economist Intelligence Unit, recently told The Media Line.
"It could shrink as access to the Iranian market is becoming harder as a
result of sanctions."
The UAE is not only re-exporting Chinese goods, but it is
also doing so with American goods.
According to a recent report by the National US-Arab Chamber
of Commerce, a Washington-based NGO working to promote US business ties with
the Arab world, the single largest importer of American goods in the Arab world
is the UAE, which is expected to import goods and services totaling about $22
billion in 2010. A majority of these will be re-exported across the region.
Morteza Masoumzadeh, executive deputy president of the
Iranian Business Council in United Arab Emirates, argued the effects of the
sanctions would be minimal.
"The new restriction and sanctions do not affect our
business in the United Arab Emirates because we (Emiratis) are already hit hard
by the previous sanctions in the latest three rounds," he told The Media
Line. "It's not something that will affect our future."
"The UAE and Iran have historical and traditional
ties," he said. "This is not something new; there has always been
Iranian trade houses in the United Arab Emirates and Emirate businessmen in
Iran... Around 8,000 Iranian companies are operating in the UAE at the
moment."
Christian Koch, director of international studies at the
Gulf Research Center in Dubai, agreed that the affects would be minimal.
"I do not think the new round of sanctions will impact
trade between the UAE and Iran that much, as we are talking about targeted
sanctions here instead of a general embargo," he told The Media Line.
"Those items covered under the new regime, dual-use goods for Iran's
nuclear industry or military items, have never made up the majority of goods
traded with Iran. Along with the new sanctions, there will certainly be
continued efforts to stop loopholes and enhance compliance and the UAE is
committed on both fronts."
