Bahrain - Gateway to the Gulf

Bahrain will be used as a model for at least eight other countries in the Middle East which have been earmarked for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the U.S., according to the Honorable Paul Ryan (R-WI) (Image to the right speaking).

He expects the FTA between Bahrain and the US to be finalized before the end of the year, possibly in November. Mr Ryan said the country will cash in by becoming a "gateway" for American firms looking to do business in the Middle East. "When President Bush outlined the Middle East FTA initiative he outlined a plan to extend free trade with most of the Middle East," said Mr Ryan. "That is a big and difficult undertaking. The key to it is Bahrain - especially in the Gulf. "It is ahead of the rest of the crowd - it is the trend-setting nation on trade with the U.S. It is the building block on which trade with the rest of the region will occur."

Mr. Ryan was speaking to journalists yesterday during a visit to the country to meet government and private sector officials. In addition to being Congressman for Wisconsin’s First District, he is also chairman of a 24-member committee designed to steer the US-Bahrain FTA through Congress. The committee, known as the Bahrain Caucus, aims to educate Congressmen on the benefits of the FTA with Bahrain, US ties with Bahrain and the importance of the relationship. Congress has to approve the FTA before it can be signed by the US President. "Our aim is to get enough votes to pass the bill in Congress," said Mr. Ryan.

Bahrain is one of nine countries in the Middle East which already have Trade Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs) with the U.S. It is the eight other countries who are expected to sign their own FTAs with the US. Two rounds of FTA negotiations have already taken place between Bahrain and American sides. A third and final round is planned for Washington next month, following an informal session in London, UK, at the end of this month. The FTA will then go to Congress, which has 90 days to review the legislation. "It will happen," said Mr. Ryan. "We are targeting September or October for passing through Congress.” The President then has to sign it, but we are targeting before the end of the year. "Even if the President loses the election I still believe we will sign this." The FTA is expected to bring more direct investment from the US creating more jobs for Bahrainis, among other things.

It is also expected to increase the volume of trade between the two countries, which stood at just under $1 billion last year. Mr. Ryan said it was impossible to speculate how much trade will increase, but he expects it to give business a huge push. "I represent around 700,000 people - farmers, people who work in factories, and people working in service sectors such as banking," he said. "Trade equals jobs. Trade and expanded trade between our two countries is mutually beneficial. "That is the fundamental premise of why we want to expand trade.

"We have a good relationship between governments, but what trade does is connect our people so that common Americans and Bahrainis can enter into business relationships and form strong ties. "They can engage in mutually prosperous endeavors." Mr. Ryan says the US-Bahrain FTA has so far received a positive response from Members of Congress, who are aware of the country's strategic importance.

He added there is a new desire in the US to engage directly with other countries - especially those in the Middle East - following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. "The US is behind," he said. "For eight years between 1994 to 2002 we did not have a trade negotiating authority.”We are scrambling to catch up with the rest of the world. "I believe that September 11, 2001 changed everything in the U.S. "After the Cold War, we believed that we had something called the peace dividend - that we could retreat from the rest of the world harmlessly.”That was proven untrue with September 11.

We have to do more to engage the rest of the world in the people-to-people sense. "We have to engage in the form of getting to know each other much better, expanding friendships and business relationships so we understand each other better."

For more information, please contact the Office of the Economic Representative via e-mail info@bahraingateway.org or by telephone at (202) 537-7810.