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US-Bahrain

In May 2004, after just four months of talks, US and Bahraini trade negotiators concluded a free trade agreement between the two countries. The agreement was signed by US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Bahrain’s Minister of Finance and National Economy, Abdulla Hassan Saif, in September 2004.

Ratification and entry into force was to come after Bahrain assured Washington that it "no longer supports a boycott of Israeli goods".

The FTA came into force on 1 August 2006. Two years later, the government claimed that the best impacts of the FTA were boosting Bahrain’s image in the US and speeding up domestic policy changes at home, while critics pointed to the country’s rapidly deteriorating trade surplus with the US. The AFL-CIO has called on the US Administration to withdraw from the agreement over human rights concerns and the mass dismissals of many public sector workers.

last update: May 2012

Photo: Illegally fired public-sector employees protest in Bahrain (Solidarity Center / CC BY-ND 2.0)


Joint business council opens in Washington
US Ambassador William Monroe yesterday announced the inauguration of a Bahraini-US Business Council in Washington on Thursday under the patronage of Bahraini Ambassador Nasser Al Balooshi.
Garments industry ’has to wait for gains’
The garments industry may not see the benefits of the new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US until early next year, said an industry leader.
Bahrain-US free trade panel discusses future plans
The Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Implementation Committee yesterday held its first meeting since the international trade agreement was ratified on August 1.
Bilateral gains implied by US-Bahrain FTA
Speaking to members of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) in Washington last month, I learned that Congress supported the FTA with Bahrain partly because it posed no threat to American farm industry.
Bahrain-US free trade pact comes into force
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bahrain and the US comes into force today.
HM issues orders to begin implementation of FTA
HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, on Friday, gave his royal orders to begin implementing the Bahrain US FTA as from August 1, 2006.
FTA ’will open new era of ties’
US-Bahrain relations will enter a new era when the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into force in the coming weeks, said US Ambassador William T Monroe yesterday.
New trademark law
Bahrain is set to join the Trademark Law Treaty and Regulations enacted in Geneva, Switzerland in 1994.
Bahraini-US FTA likely to go into effect on August 1st
A US source, close to the Free Trade Agreement negotiations, said it is likely the Bahraini US commercial agreement will go into effect in early August 2006 after Bahrain endorses all Intellectual Copyright Laws.
FTA ’followed in letter and spirit’
The US government has confirmed that Bahrain is no longer part of an Arab boycott of Israeli products in line with its commitment to the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA).