US, Bahrain Sign FTA
High Plains Journal, Kansas
14 September 2004
US, Bahrain Sign FTA
U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick and Minister of Finance and National Economy Abdulla Hassan Saif today signed the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, a comprehensive agreement that will not only remove trade barriers and expand regional opportunities for the peoples of both countries, but will also promote liberty and opportunity in the Middle East, according to a USTR news release.
Two-way trade was nearly $900 million in 2003. On the first day this agreement goes into effect, 100 percent of consumer and industrial products and 81 percent of U.S. agricultural exports will be duty free. Bahrain will open its services market wider than any previous FTA partner, streamline digital trade, protect intellectual property, facilitate government procurement, and provide for effective enforcement of labor and environmental laws. In 2003, U.S. exports totaled more than half a billion dollars. This new trade opening will expand opportunities for exports of aircraft, machinery, vehicles, pharmaceutical and agricultural products such as meats, fruits and vegetables, cereals, and dairy products.
"The U.S.-Bahrain FTA will enhance commercial relations with an economic leader in the Gulf, and set the stage for improving trade relations and expanding openness with other countries in the region, creating prosperity, opportunity, and hope," said Zoellick in the release. "This free trade agreement is the next step for a nation on the move. Free trade negotiations often last more than a year, but Bahrain’s decisive embrace of open trade and free markets paved the way for these negotiations to close in four months.
