ISDS Case Map
Bahrain
The backers of the $1.6bn Bahrain Investment Wharf (BIW) project are using the Kingdom's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States to try and entice major firms from the economic powerhouses of China and India to set up shop in Bahrain.
Bahrain and Pakistan have vowed to step up negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which could be signed before the end of the year.
Bahrain has banned strikes and worker demonstrations in most business sectors, a month after labour law reforms banning the sacking of strikers encouraged a wave of trade union activity in the Gulf island state.
Bahrain businesses trading with the US may still be paying duty on customs-free products because they haven't amended their paperwork. Bahrain Export Development Society (BEDS) chairman Dr Yousef Mashal said 96 per cent of Bahrain's industrial and agricultural products now received immediate duty-free access to the US markets because of the Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but some traders were missing out.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bahrain and the US has been operational since August 1, and on September 19, the US Congress approved the FTA with Oman, which will come into effect soon. The media coverage of the two deals in the region have been limited to official announcements without pointing out the serious dangers these FTAs pose to the GCC customs union.
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.
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.
The Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Implementation Committee yesterday held its first meeting since the international trade agreement was ratified on August 1.
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.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bahrain and the US comes into force today.
