The United States and Brunei enjoy a long history of trade, dating to an 1850 treaty whereby Brunei and the United States agreed to trade freely and without barriers, under Most Favored Nation (MFN) status.
Today U.S. companies and businesses doing business in Brunei or wishing to export products to Brunei may do so freely, except for food products, an area in which Brunei takes particular interest. Brunei emphasizes its halal food industry as one of the key pillars of its economic diversification efforts. Brunei promotes its own halal food certification regime—one entirely distinct from other halal certification organizations in the region—which requires Bruneian inspectors to travel to production facilities in the home country of the food exporter at the exporter’s expense to inspect the food production process. This requirement places constraints on the ability of U.S. exporters of food products to enter the Brunei market.
Contact Information:
International Trade Administration
Phone: (202)-482-0063
Email: ECCommunications@trade.gov