Economic reports: Saudi-American trade expansion, Washington’s debt crisis, and European-Chinese trade negotiations

Saudi Arabia is strengthening its presence as an attractive market for international food companies, with regulatory updates and the expansion of the manufacturing and food services sectors reflecting on the movement of trade and the interest of international companies in the Kingdom, as US beef exports nearly doubled within four months, coinciding with the expansion of Washington’s interest to include food manufacturing, logistics services, cold storage and distribution.

Chris Frederick, the agricultural advisor in the Department of Agricultural Affairs at the US Embassy in Riyadh, told Asharq Al-Awsat that US beef exports to Saudi Arabia amounted to about 575 metric tons, with a value of approximately $6.2 million during the period from April to July 2026, equivalent to almost double the quantity and value recorded during the same period of the previous year, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture.

The growth came after Saudi Arabia updated last March some of the requirements for American beef to enter the market, as it removed the requirement that exports be subject to the Export Verification Program of the Agricultural Marketing Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

Under the new arrangements, halal certification bodies in the United States, accredited by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, became responsible for verifying that products meet the halal requirements in force in the Kingdom. These procedures, according to Frederick, contributed to reducing technical obstacles and challenges related to supply chains for exporters.

The American side believes that the growth recorded following the regulatory changes is still in its infancy compared to the size of the opportunity that the Saudi market can provide. Frederick explained that the American Meat Exporters Association estimates the size of the opportunity available for American beef in the Kingdom at about $150 million, compared to $6.2 million in exports recorded during the four months that followed the recent changes.

The interest of American companies, according to Frederick, is not limited to increasing exports of agricultural and food products, as the expansion of the Saudi food economy opens broader opportunities for companies across the various stages of the value chain. These opportunities include agricultural commodities and raw materials, food ingredients and processed foods, in addition to food processing equipment and technologies, in addition to the areas of logistics services, cold storage, distribution, packaging and food processing.

The US government is bearing increasing borrowing costs, while having fewer easy options to reduce these costs. Long-term US Treasury bond yields are approaching their highest levels in two decades, and the reasons for this rise do not appear to be temporary. Washington is selling huge amounts of debt to finance deficits that are not declining, while the decline in inflation slows.

The result is an interest bill of about $1 trillion annually on debt exceeding $40 trillion. Washington has tools to limit the rise in borrowing costs, starting with increased reliance on short-term borrowing, and in extreme cases reaching the Federal Reserve to intervene to put a ceiling on long-term bond yields.

European Union Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčović heads to Beijing on Thursday for two days of talks with Chinese officials; In an attempt to avoid escalating the disputes into a trade war, Brussels is toughing it out in the face of what it sees as unfair competition that threatens vital European industrial sectors.