190127 king fahd causeway
The companies based at the new free zone will have priority access to send their goods via the Khalifa bin Salman Port and Bahrain International Airport. They could also use the King Fahad Causeway. Image Credit: Supplied
Also in this package

Dubai: A free trade zone for American businesses will be set up in Bahrain.

The ‘US Trade Zone’ will be promoted as a regional trade, manufacturing and logistics hub for US companies looking at breaking into the Gulf and wider region. Future tenants at the free zone will also have priority access to shipments via Khalifa bin Salman Port, Bahrain International Airport, King Fahad Causeway or any new customs posts created by Bahrain.

What the new US Trade Zone will offer
It will allow US businesses multi-modal access to an area "ideal for cross-docking activities".

“The favorable economic prospects in our region provides the ideal opportunity to US companies to further expand their business from USTZ,” said Zayed R. Alzayani, Bahrain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism. “The MoU will open new doors to strengthen the mutual relationships between the two markets based on the advantages of the Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA).”

It was in 2002 that the US designated the Gulf state as a major “non-NATO ally”.

$ 2.45 billion

Trade volumes between the US and Bahrain $2.45 billion in 2019, and with an additional $1.5 billion generated through trade in services. The Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2006