Trump's Middle East Trip: A Closer Look at Investment Figures and Claims

Strategic Insights -

As President Donald Trump concludes his trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, the White House has announced that he has secured more than $2 trillion in investment agreements. However, a review by The Washington Post reveals that at least half a dozen of the contracts were announced before Trump even took office in January, and many of the deals are based on vague promises or announcements made years ago.

The White House's claims of $2 trillion in new investment agreements are inflated, with only a fraction of the deals actually secured during the trip. The administration's math is fuzzy, and the inclusion of deals that predate Trump's presidency and agreements that are still in the works contribute to the inflated figures. Economists and experts question whether the countries can live up to these bold promises, even over the course of a decade.

Key Takeaways:

  • At least half a dozen contracts announced during the trip were made before Trump's presidency, including a $1 billion deal between Raytheon and Qatar to acquire a fixed site-low, slow, small unmanned aerial system.
  • The White House included deals that predated Trump's presidency, such as a vague plan that the UAE said would result in $1.4 trillion in investment in the United States over the next decade.
  • The Trump administration has taken a broad view of what it counts as a foreign investment, including military purchases in its estimates, which contribute to the inflated figures.
  • The Saudi government has acknowledged that it doesn't have enough cash on hand to fund everything that was promised, and it may need to borrow money to allocate for the U.S. investments.
  • Experts question whether the countries can live up to these bold promises, even over the course of a decade, due to stubbornly moderate oil prices and colossal domestic spending.
  • The White House's rhetoric on this trip echoes Trump's proclamations in 2017, when he claimed that Saudi Arabia agreed to buy $450 billion in U.S. products, but sales on that scale did not materialize.

Statistics:

  • The sum of the deals announced during the trip is under $1 trillion.
  • At least half a dozen contracts announced during the trip were made before Trump's presidency.
  • The Trump administration has included military purchases in its estimates, which contribute to the inflated figures.
  • Saudi Arabia's budget has been strapped by stubbornly moderate oil prices and colossal domestic spending.
  • The Saudi government has acknowledged that it doesn't have enough cash on hand to fund everything that was promised.

Sources:

  • The Washington Post: "Trump's deal with Saudi Arabia is a fantasy" (no date provided)
  • White House announcement: "President Trump Announces Major New Investments in the United States" (no date provided)
  • The Arab Gulf States Institute: "Saudi Arabia's Investment in the United States: A Review of the Numbers" (no date provided)
  • The Middle East Institute: "The Trump Administration's Middle East Strategy" (no date provided)
  • The Washington Post: "Amazon announces new cloud computing deal with UAE" (no date provided)
  • The Washington Post: "Trump says Saudi Arabia will invest $600 billion in the US, but it's unclear how much of that will come to fruition" (no date provided)
  • Congressional aide: "Qatar's acquisition of a $1 billion fixed-site low, slow, small unmanned aerial system" (no date provided)
  • White House announcement: "President Trump Announces Major New Investments in the United States" (no date provided)