What Massad Boulos can do for US-Middle East trade

• White House role for Trump in-law
• Adviser on Arab and ME affairs
• Lebanese tycoon has Africa links

The rise of a Lebanese tycoon and Trump in-law to the White House suggests business links and personal ties between the US and the Middle East will be front and centre for the new administration.

Incoming US President Donald Trump announced on social media on Sunday that Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of his daughter Tiffany, would serve as his senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. 

“Massad is an accomplished lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the international scene,” the US president-elect wrote. 

Trump and Boulos have been quiet about what exactly the role will entail. The multiple crises unfolding in the Middle East, including the conflict in Gaza, its reverberations in Lebanon and Iran, and the revived civil war in Syria, are certain to require immediate attention.

But given Boulos’s background in the private corporate world, business between the US and the Middle East is likely to come a close second, according to sources. 

“Certainly, having an Arab businessman providing input to the Trump administration could be helpful with economic ties, both in helping the administration to understand the region and communicating with it,” says Justin Alexander, director of the consultancy Khalij Economics in the US.

Boulos, born in Lebanon to a Greek Orthodox family, does not appear to have extensive interests in the Middle East itself, though he is said to maintain close relationships with Christian leaders in his native country.

His activities have primarily centred on the automotive industry in Nigeria, where the family runs Scoa Motors and Boulos Enterprises.

Robert Mogielnicki, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC, says: “I suspect Mr Boulos will view regional developments and consider policy options through a strong commercial lens.”

That, Mogielnicki says, may benefit in particular the “wealthier, stable countries” in the region, such as the UAE.  

Boulos’s experience in Nigeria may also push the US and Gulf states to collaborate more closely in Africa, where opportunities in crucial industries such as critical minerals are growing, according to Mogielnicki.

Reuters/Thomas Peter

David Hamod, president and chief executive of the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce in Washington, says the appointment could help shift the US “narrative” about the Middle East away from its traditional focus on national security and energy. 

“While these sectors and nations remain vitally important, the new leadership team should explore commercial opportunities that are often overlooked,” Hamod says. 

“These include bolstering programs for America’s small and medium-sized enterprises, especially exporters, as well as strengthening relations with emerging markets in the region, like North Africa, where talent is plentiful,” he says.

It is the second time in as many mandates that Trump has chosen a relative to help lead White House efforts in the Middle East, after his son-in-law Jared Kushner served in a similar role from 2017 to 2021.

Adding Saudi Arabia to the Abraham Accords, which normalised relationships between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain in the autumn of 2020, is likely to be a top priority for the White House, though the conflict in Gaza makes that much harder to achieve now.

Boulos is also the second selection Trump has made for his new administration’s Middle East portfolio that has no background in politics or government. The president-elect earlier appointed Steven Witkoff, a real estate tycoon, as envoy to the region.

Oliver B. John, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute and the founder and president of the consultancy Astrolabe Global Strategy, says: “Looking back at the first Trump presidency, he focused heavily on the business/economic aspects of international relations, in some ways even more than the standard geo-political aspects.

“I see this as the president-elect ‘keeping it in the family’, if you will.”  

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John, a retired US foreign service officer, believes the ruling elites and prominent merchant families in the Gulf will be “comfortable” with Trump’s approach, as “they have long experience in maneuvering through family ties and informal relationships.”

Since Kushner left the White House, he has continued cultivating business interests across the Gulf.

John says that he “can’t believe” Boulos “wouldn’t look to provide business context to the President, and possibly to benefit from it in the long run.”

Regardless of Boulos’s business acumen and local connections, he remains an unknown quantity when it comes to US diplomacy.

Richard Wilson, founder and president of the Saudi-US Trade Group in Washington, says: “Boulos’s familiarity with the Middle East and close relationship with President Trump will have value in the region.

“Business decisions remain business decisions, however. What real influence will he have? What is on offer? What can he actually deliver?”