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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)


FTA clears last hurdle with Shura go-ahead
Six laws that should allow Bahrain’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US to be activated cleared their final hurdle yesterday.
Industry and Commerce Minister opens workshop on exporting
Minister of Industry and Commerce, Dr.Hasasan Abdullah Fakhro opened here on Saturday the first workshop on exporting Trade (ETT) organized by the by the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance ( VEGA ).
New FTA laws delay rapped
An MP accused the Commerce and Industry ministry of sleeping yesterday after it asked parliament to push through six new laws that should activate Bahrain’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US.
Final hurdle
Six laws that should allow Bahrain’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US to be enacted were passed by MPs in a single sitting yesterday.It means the FTA could finally come into effect by July.
Postponement of implementing free trade agreement with USA
The American government demands that the Bahrain government enact laws protecting intellectual property rights for computer programs and patent registry as a condition for implementing the free trade agreement.
’New laws key to FTA’
A FEW pieces of legislation, mainly related to intellectual property rights, need to be passed in Bahrain before its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US can be implemented, US Ambassador William T Monroe said yesterday.However, this should not prevent both sides from marketing the FTA in full force, he said.
FTA panel probes setting up of joint business board
A Bahrain-US joint business board may be set up to speed up the implementation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA).The Bahrain FTA Implementation Committee yesterday discussed a proposal aimed at accelerating the implementation of the pact, the first signed between Washington and a Gulf state.
Bahrain-US business board to speed up FTA implementation
A joint Bahrain-US business board is being set up as part of a major initiative to speed up the implementation of the Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as well as enhance the scope of benefits for both sides.
Opening a trade gateway
Hundreds of American companies have been invited to a key conference in Bahrain next week to discuss ways to enhance commercial ties between the two countries.
Wake-up alarm over FTA delays
The sticking point for the US-Bahrain FTA to come into effect is intellectual property rights (IPR) legislation, which must be passed by Bahrain’s Parliament first