Caracas, Thursday February 07 , 2008

Venezuela-US trade with a tail wind

United States-Venezuela trade is moving forward with a tail wind, as figures show steady growth over the last nine years, despite the Venezuelan government's bitter rhetoric against the "US empire."

Based on figures disclosed by the US Department of Trade and according to Latin American analysts, bilateral economic dependence is opposed to President Hugo Chávez's continuous derogatory expressions against the US.

While the US needs Venezuelan crude oil, Venezuelans need basic food staples from the US.

This "is a marriage (between Venezuela and the US) very hard to divorce or split up," Jorge Piñón, head of the Department of Energy Studies, Miami University, told Efe on Thursday. He added that Venezuelan annual oil sales to the US total some USD 35 billion.According to data provided by the US Department of Trade, Venezuela's trade surplus with the US in 1999 was USD 3.54 billion. The figure increased to USD 12.53 in 2003 and to USD 24.32 billion in 2006 -the last year for which records are available.

Venezuela's major trade lead over the US is crude oil sales. In 2006, Venezuelan crude oil sales to the United States totaled some USD 37 billion, according to the US Department of Trade.

US exports of goods and services to Venezuela were USD 9.79 billion in 1999. They fell USD 5.92 billion in 2003, but bounced back in 2006, when they exceeded USD 15 billion.

http://english.eluniversal.com/2008/02/07/en_eco_art_venezuela-us-trade-w_07A1352083.shtml