Introduction
It is important to note that the petroleum trade between Saudi Arabia and the United States is one of the key economic relationships in the world. The U.S. can be considered a net importer of oil, petroleum, and petroleum goods, whereas Saudi Arabia is a net exporter. The relevant data for the analysis must be derived from reliable and credible sources. The data assessment suggests that the United States has gradually increased its petroleum imports from Saudi Arabia.
Relevant Data
Table 1 (see Appendix) shows the relevant data acquired from the World Trade Organization (WTO), which links to the U.S. Energy Information Administration for import data since the U.S. imports petroleum from Saudi Arabia.
Illustration
Figure 1 below is a scatter plot graph illustration of the time series data from the previous section. The trend line indicated in red shows a gradual increase in petroleum imports from Saudi Arabia to the United States.
Brief Description of Data
One should be aware that the time series data analysis above only indicates average changes over half a century. If the data is assessed from the 2000s, one can observe a sharp decline in petroleum imports from Saudi Arabia to the United States. The most significant reduction was observed in 2018 and 2019, but it has not recovered since then. According to WTO (2023a), the United States is not even a top fifth trading partner for Saudi Arabia, which includes the UAE, India, China, the EU, and Singapore. This indicates that although the historical time series data may provide valuable insights, one must consider more recent trends and place the data in a broader context of global trade.
In addition, WTO (2023b) states that the U.S. is among the nations that have trading disputes with the Kingdom. It should be noted that the Saudi government outlined ‘Vision 2030’ to become more diversified from its oil and petroleum exports by increasing productivity (World Bank, 2023). Today, Saudi Arabia still relies on oil and petroleum exports to sustain its economy, so it cannot diversify its exports sufficiently to be less dependent on its natural resources (WTO, 2023c). In other words, the U.S. seems to be reducing its imports of petroleum from Saudi Arabia since the 2000s, but such sharp declines have been observed in the past.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the petroleum trade between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has historically been significant, with the U.S. being a net importer and Saudi Arabia a net exporter. However, more recent data reveal a sharp decline in U.S. imports of Saudi petroleum since the 2000s, with the most notable reduction in 2018 and 2019. The U.S. is not among Saudi Arabia’s top trading partners, which include the UAE, India, China, the EU, and Singapore.
References
U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2023). Petroleum & other liquids. Web.
World Bank. (2023). The World Bank in Saudi Arabia. Web.
WTO. (2023a). Top trading partner. Web.
WTO. (2023b). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the WTO. Web.
WTO. (2023c). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Summary. Web.
Appendix
Table 1: Petroleum Products: U.S. Imports from Saudi Arabia