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US BAHRAIN SIGN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
 
WASHINGTON, DC - US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Minister of Finance and National Economy Abdulla Hassan Saif have signed the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement.

On the first day the new agreement goes into effect, 100% of consumer and industrial products and 81% of US agricultural exports will enter the Middle Eastern country duty free. 
 
Two-way goods trade between the US and Bahrain was $887 million in 2003. 

US goods exports to Bahrain in 2003 totaled $509 million, including aircraft, machinery, vehicles, pharmaceutical products, and toys, games and sports equipment, while exports of agricultural products to Bahrain in 2003 totaled $14 million - mainly poultry, snack foods, cotton, and processed fruit and vegetables.

Bahrain's goods exports to the US last year totaled $378 million, including articles of apparel and clothing accessories, aluminum, fertilizers, organic chemicals, mineral fuels and oils, plastics, and electrical machinery. 

Two-way foreign direct investment is about $195 million.
 
FRANCES MOVES TO CURB OUTSOURCING

PARIS, France - France will spend over $1.2 billion on tax breaks and other incentives to encourage companies to keep jobs in the country rather than going abroad.
 
According to reports, companies in about 20 newly designated "competitiveness zones" will be offered reduced corporate tax rates and social charges in exchange for commitments to stay in France.

The government will name the first areas designated as competitiveness zones in early 2005, and plans to spend $453 million on the new initiative over the next three years.

In recent months, a growing number of companies - making products ranging from microchips to underwear - have announced plans to outsource or transfer activities to Asia, Eastern Europe or North Africa.

Others, like the French subsidiary of German car parts maker Robert Bosch GMBH, have used the threat of relocation to persuade workers to put in more hours for no extra pay.
 
Paris is also expected to soon announce tax breaks worth another $441 million for companies that resist pressure to relocate abroad or offshore some activities, along with other measures.

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