*

Experts say Gulf's money commitments to Trump exaggerated

*

Many deals are non-binding memorandums of understanding

*

Gulf states secure Trump's support on key issues

By Pesha Magid, Manya Saini, Andrew Mills

RIYADH/DOHA, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump was wrapping up his Gulf tour on Friday having secured

what the White House says is over $2 trillion for the U.S.

economy in combined deals.

How that number was calculated is unclear. Based on a

Reuters tally of all the specific deals announced, the total

value is over $700 billion. But deal inflation is not unusual on

any major visit, let alone one by a U.S. president who has long

prided himself as an expert dealmaker.

The trip included big orders of Boeing ( BA ) planes, deals to buy U.S.

defence equipment, data and technology agreements and other

contracts.

But financial experts and diplomats say the headline figures

have been padded out in both sides' desire to showcase the

extent of their cooperation.

Of the corporate agreements worth up to $549 billion during

the Trump's Gulf tour, many were non-binding memorandums of

understanding, according to a Reuters analysis.

The defence sales agreed with Saudi Arabia and Qatar took

the overall tally close to $730 billion, by Reuters'

calculations.

Reuters could not independently verify whether additional

agreements were signed without public disclosure.

"The amounts are inflated, possible spending is counted as

actual - and most of the solid deals ... would have happened

irrespective of who was in the White House," said Justin

Alexander, Director of Khalij Economics.

During his first term, Trump said Saudi Arabia had agreed to

$450 billion in deals with the U.S., but actual trade and

investment flows amounted to less than $300 billion between 2017

to 2020, according to data compiled by the Arab Gulf States

Institute.

"DEALMAKER IN CHIEF"

In response to a question about the figures, White House

spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters: "President Trump is the

Dealmaker in Chief, and these trillions of dollars in economic

agreements are great news for American companies and workers.

The President is quickly delivering on his promises to Make

America Strong and Wealthy Again."

A Qatari official reached by Reuters did not provide

comprehensive details about Doha's commitment to Washington, and

Saudi and UAE officials did not immediately respond to requests

for details.

Memorandums of understanding are less formal than contracts

and do not always turn into cash transactions.

Saudi Aramco, for example, announced it had signed 34

deals with U.S. companies worth up to $90 billion on AI

infrastructure and other areas. But most of the tie-ups were

non-binding MoUs without a value attached.

Aramco's agreement to buy 1.2 million tonnes of LNG per year for

a 20-year term from NextDecade ( NEXT ) had already been announced months

earlier, but was still included in Wednesday's tally.

The White House said agreements signed with Qatar's Emir

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani would "generate an economic

exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion", and included a $96

billion sale to Qatar Airways. But it did not offer a

comprehensive breakdown

A Qatari official said Qatar's sovereign wealth fund had

made an "economic pledge" to invest $500 billion in the U.S.

economy over the next 10 years, but that this did not yet

include anything concrete.

"If the past is precedent, promised deals that have no real

return on investment will eventually be shelved after having

served their political purpose," said Firas Maksad, managing

director at consulting firm Eurasia Group.

On the defence side, Washington signed a $142 billion arms

package with Saudi Arabia covering purchases from more than a

dozen U.S. companies, and what Trump said was a $42 billion

defence deal with Qatar.

During his first term, Trump celebrated an announcement of

approximately $110 billion of arms sales during his visit to

Saudi Arabia.

But such deals extend over many years and are hard to track

closely. As of 2018, only $14.5 billion of sales had been

initiated and Congress began to question the deals in light of

the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

Despite the vagueness of the commitments and timelines, the

news has boosted some market stocks.

Deutsche Bank attributed a 4.16% rise in Nvidia ( NVDA ) on

Wednesday to the MoU announced by Saudi state oil giant Aramco.

And there were concrete new deals for U.S. companies.

Qatar Airways' order for 160 Boeing ( BA ) jetliners with GE Aerospace

engines is worth $96 billion. And Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways

will spend $14.5 billion to buy 28 Boeing ( BA ) aircraft with GE

engines.

Boeing ( BA ) shares closed up 0.64% on Wednesday after the

Doha reveal.

But some of the real gains of Trump's tour lie beyond the

raw numbers.

Most importantly, the three Gulf countries have secured U.S.

support for files they see as key.

Saudi Arabia is moving closer to its long-held aspiration to

develop a civil nuclear energy industry, which Trump has

delinked from normalising relations with Israel, a major win for

the kingdom.

The UAE has signed a framework that puts it on a pathway to

acquiring the advanced semiconductors it wants in order to

fulfil its long-held ambition of AI leadership.

And Qatar received Trump's assurance that the U.S. would

protect it if it ever came under attack.

"I think there is a wider symbolic dividend here," said

Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East policy at the

International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"While many of the U.S.'s traditional partners and allies

have had a particularly tense few months of relations with the

U.S., trying to navigate Trump's economic policies and his

controversial approach to the Russia-Ukraine war, here are the

Gulf States concluding unprecedented business deals and arms

sales and taking their bilateral relationship to the next

level."