Paper and Paper Products

• Trade and Tariffs
• Tariff Elimination

Trade and Tariffs

The paper and paper products sector is defined by the Uruguay Round sectoral initiative on paper. Paper and paper products accounted for 1.3 percent of total U.S. non-textile industrial exports to Bahrain, averaging approximately $2.0 million. U.S. exports in the sector are lead by uncoated kraft paper; paper plates, trays, and cups; and newsprint.

Bahraini tariffs on paper products range from 5.0 to 20.0 percent, averaging 5.4 percent. The highest tariffs in this sector apply to: paper sacks and bags; sanitary napkins and diapers; handkerchiefs, tissues, and towels; and toilet paper. Bahraini exports in this sector were negligible, averaging less than $50 thousand.

The United States, as a party to the Uruguay Round zero-for-zero sectoral agreement on paper, applies duty-free treatment on an MFN basis to these products.

Tariff Elimination

Tariffs will be phased out according to two tariff elimination categories: immediate elimination, and equal cuts over ten years.

One hundred percent of bilateral paper trade will be duty free immediately. The duties on certain non-traded paper products in Bahrain such as paper sacks and bags, sanitary napkins and diapers, and tissues will be phased out over a course of ten years.