Bahrain hopes to be exempt from US aluminium tariff

Bahrain is hoping it will be granted an exemption from U.S. tariffs on foreign-made aluminium and steel.  American Chamber of Commerce Bahrain President, Qays H. Zu'bi said Bahrain is a key strategic ally of the United States and will be given due consideration for an exemption from these measures.

“Aluminium is Bahrain’s top export to the US, representing 61pc of all goods exported from Bahrain to the US in 2017,” said Qays Zu’bi. “This is significant to Bahrain’s economy, but is considered a very small percentage of the total aluminium imported by the US worldwide.”

"We remain optimistic that Bahrain, being a key strategic ally of the US and a host to the US Fifth Fleet, as well as beneficiary of the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement will be given due consideration for an exemption on the proposed tariffs.”

Last week U.S. President Donald Trump signed proclamation imposing 10 per cent tariffs on aluminium and 25 per cent on steel but exempted Canada and Mexico.

"As a long-standing political ally with strongly interlinked aluminium value chains and numerous multinationals operating on both territories, Europe should have been exempted from the tariff. If the tariff comes into force, it will greatly damage our trading relationship with the US,” Director General of European Aluminium Gerd Götz said last week.