Bahrain has hired a high-profile US law firm to help convince the Donald Trump administration to go easy on new tariffs that could harm the US strategic ally.

Washington-based Miller and Chevalier Chartered filed paperwork with the Justice Department last week to advise Bahrain as it seeks relief from a 10% tariff on aluminum announced by the president earlier this month. The contract calls for the firm to be paid up to $110,000 to provide "legal advice and assistance" to the Bahraini Embassy in Washington through the end of March.

"The Kingdom of Bahrain is anticipating the Department of Commerce’s imminent announcement regarding tariff exemption procedures," the embassy told Al-Monitor in an emailed statement. "Nonetheless, as a close US military ally and impartial free trade partner, the Kingdom of Bahrain is confident in meeting the requirements of the country exemption principles."

The kingdom is home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet and its 20,000 sailors at Manama, fueling US interest in the country’s economic stability. The US Geological Survey ranked Bahrain as the world’s eighth-largest producer of aluminum in 2016, with 970,000 tons (the United Arab Emirates ranked fifth), accounting for about 10% of the country’s economy.