WT/REG219/M/1  
 
9 April 2015  
(15-1932)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
Seventy-sixth Session   
 
 FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND  
THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN 
GOODS AND SERVICES 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 30 MARCH 2015 
Chairman: Ambassador Francisco Pirez Gordillo (Uruguay) 
1.1.  The 76th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter 'CRTA' or the 
'Committee') was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/1 dated 16 February 2015. 
1.2.  Under Agenda Item B.IV, the CRTA considered the Free Trade Agreement between the 
United States and the Kingdom of Bahrain, (hereinafter "the Agreement"). 
1.3.  The Chairman said that the Agreement had entered into force on 1 August 2006. It had been 
notified to the WTO by the Parties on 8 September 2006 under Article XXIV:7(a) of the GATT 1994 
and the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV of GATT 1994 as an Agreement 
establishing a free trade area (document WT/REG219/N/1) and under GATS Article V:7(a) as an Agreement providing for the liberalization of trade in  services within the meaning of Article V of the 
GATS (document S/C/N/375). The text of the Agreement was available, together with its Annexes, 
on the Parties' official websites. The Factual Presentation on the goods and services aspects 
(document WT/REG219/2 dated 19 January 2015 had b een prepared by the Secretariat on its own 
responsibility in full consultation with the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the 
Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Ag reements (document WT/L/671). In addition, 
written questions and replies on this Agreemen t had been distributed in document WT/REG219/3 
dated 18 March 2015. He drew Members' attention to the fact that the factual presentation had 
been prepared back in 2009 and therefore differed in format from factual presentations prepared 
more recently. In addition, a question to the Pa rties had been received after the questions and 
replies document had been circulated and he hoped the Parties would be in a position to respond 
during the meeting. He proposed to organize the consideration of the Agreement by first asking 
the Parties and then other Members to give any general comments. He would then turn to the specifics of the Agreement. 
1.4.  The representative of the Kingdom of Bahrai n was pleased to take part in the review of the 
Agreement. He believed the review mechanism pr ovided Members with transparency and openness 
which were an integral part of the World Trade Organization. He thanked the WTO Secretariat for the factual presentation report. A lot of time and effort had gone into preparing it and he was 
pleased that it was very thorough and comprehensive. 
1.5.  The Agreement had been signed on 14 September 2004, covering all aspects of trade 
including goods, services, investment, intellectual property, government procurement, and the 
environment.  
1.6.  The United States was a major trading partner for Bahrain, and the Agreement had helped to 
amplify their mutually beneficial economic, trade, and investment relationship which was evidenced by the following statistics: the total value of bilateral trade in goods had nearly tripled 
from US$782 million in 2005 to over US$2 billion in 2014. Likewise, their joint investment 
performance had also grown by 252% between 20 05 and 2013. The Agreement had helped both 
Parties to liberalize and open up their services ma rkets. Moreover, as of 2014, a total of 652 U.S. WT/REG219/M/1 
 
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  companies were operating in Bahrain, either through joint partnerships, branches, or commercial 
agencies. 
1.7.  The Agreement fully complied with the Part ies' WTO obligations under Article XXIV of the 
GATT and Article V of the GATS and aimed to furthe r the WTO’s objectives of trade liberalization. 
Since its entry into force in August 2006, more than 6,000 tariff lines of either Party had become 
duty-free for imports from the other. Once th e Agreement had been fully implemented, both 
Parties would have substantially eliminated duties on all their tariff lines. 
1.8.  Finally, he thanked the Chairman, for his constructive introductory remarks, the Committee 
Members, and especially those who had expressed their interest in the Agreement through their 
questions and comments. 
1.9.  The representative of the United States welcomed especially his colleagues visiting from 
Bahrain and also those from other capitals. He thanked the Government of Bahrain for its hard 
work in preparing for the meeting and for its su mmary on the Agreement and the Secretariat for 
its essential role in preparing the factual presentation that was the basis the review. He welcomed 
the consideration of the  Agreement by the Committee, which had opened a new chapter in a long 
history between the United States and Bahrain, and had created economic opportunities for both their peoples. 
1.10.  The Agreement was comprehensive – reflecting their commitment to free trade, openness, 
and transparency, and to fostering a favourable climate for trade and investment. The Parties believed that the Agreement was fully consistent with their WTO obligations and built upon their WTO commitments. Already, the Agreement had generated substantial new opportunities in both 
countries further reaffirming their commitment to open markets and economic liberalization.   
1.11.  On the first day of the Agreement's entry into force, 100% of bilateral trade in consumer 
and industrial goods had begun to flow duty-fr ee. In addition, Bahrain had provided immediate 
duty-free access for 81% of U.S. agricultural expo rts. Today, nearly 100% of their bilateral trade 
had become duty-free. U.S.-Bahrain trade had gr own steadily since the Agreement entered into 
force in 2006.  From 2005 to 2014, U.S. imports from Bahrain were up more than 100%, and U.S. 
exports to Bahrain were up more than 200%. 
1.12.  In the area of services, which had been constantly growing in importance, the Agreement 
had accorded substantial market access across nearly the entire services regime, including new service industries which might emerge in the future. The Agreement provided benefits for 
businesses wishing to supply services cross-border (for instance, by electronic means) as well as 
businesses wishing to establish a presence locally in the other country. It had provided new opportunities for companies that provided banking, insurance and securities products and firms 
that provided services in telecommunication, express delivery, distribution, health care, 
construction, architecture and engineering. Th e Agreement had also ensured the secure and 
predictable legal and regulatory environment in Bahrain that foreign investors wanted to see in 
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st century commerce. 
1.13.  Both countries had committed to high standards for the protection of intellectual property.  
These standards had recognized the importance of strong and effective intellectual property protection to the Parties' economies. Strong an d detailed disciplines on regulatory transparency 
had further supplemented the Agreement’s cross-cu tting transparency provisions. In Government 
procurement the Agreement provided for non-discri minatory treatment of goods and services of 
each Party in the other’s market. 
1.14.  The United States believed that the growth in foreign investment which continued today in 
Bahrain was due – at least in part – to its commitment to open its market, as well as the transparent, predictable business climate resulting from enhanced intellectual property rights 
protection, improved business services, and the pr o-liberalization position signalled by the FTA 
itself. The reforms undertaken to implement the Agreement had made Bahrain a more attractive place for investors and created new opportunities for the Bahraini people.  
1.15.  The European Union thanked the Parties for their comprehensive presentation as well as the 
Secretariat for preparing the factual presentation. The EU noted that the Agreement had been WT/REG219/M/1 
 
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  signed in September 2005 and notified in 2006. As the EU attributed great importance to the 
efficient and relevant functioning of the Transpar ency Mechanism, he encouraged Parties, both 
specific to the Agreement as well as in general, to help the Secretariat in completing the factual presentations in a reasonably timely fashion. 
1.16.  The representative of Australia being consci ous of having presented a late question said he 
would appreciate any response at the meeting but would also be happy to receive a detailed 
response in writing after the meeting. The ques tion had requested further information about the 
tariff peaks in Bahrain that had been reduced as a result of the Agreement. 
1.17.  The representative of Bahrain thanked Australia, took note of the question which had been 
forwarded to the relevant authorities and would give a full and detailed answer as soon as 
possible.  
1.18.  The Chairman said that consideration of the Goods and Services Aspects of the Free Trade 
Agreement between the United States and the Kingdom of Bahrain had allowed the Committee to 
clarify a number of questions and the oral discussion  of this RTA could be concluded in accordance 
with paragraph 11 of the Transparency Mechanism. If any delegations wished to ask follow up 
questions they were invited to forward submissions in writing to the Secretariat by 6 April 2015 and Parties were asked to submit replies in writing by no later than 20 April 2015. In accordance 
with paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism all written submissions, as well as minutes of 
this meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO official languages, and would be made available on the WTO website.  
1.19.  The Committee took note of the comments made. 
 
 
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