Link to U.S-Oman Trade Fact Sheet

On Tuesday, September 26, President George W. Bush signed legislation containing the historic U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement into law during a ceremony at the White House in Washington, DC. Announcing his intention to sign the legislation, President Bush lauded the Free Trade Agreement: “This Agreement will level the playing field for U.S. workers and businesses, provide additional market access for U.S. goods, help Oman's leaders develop long-term opportunities for their people, and advance our shared goal of building a Middle East Free Trade Area.”

In Muscat, the U.S. Ambassador to Oman, Gary A. Grappo, hailed President Bush’s signing of the Agreement, saying, “Completing the Agreement is a big step for both our countries and the crowning achievement to a relationship begun less than 20 years after American independence, one affirmed in our very first treaty with an Arab government, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce signed in 1833.”

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab called the Free Trade Agreement "good news for the United States, Oman, and our efforts to promote economic opportunity in the Middle East," adding that "the $1 billion, two-way trade relationship between the United States and Oman is now set to grow. On the first day this agreement goes into effect, 100 percent of consumer and industrial products will flow without tariffs."

This Agreement will break new ground for U.S.-Oman bilateral trade relations, expanding export opportunities for both U.S. and Omani firms. The Agreement also will provide new opportunities for services, provide a secure and predictable legal framework for investment, provide for effective enforcement of labor and environmental laws, and protect intellectual property. This free trade agreement, the fifth between the U.S. and an Arab country, will enter into force when all of the applicable legal requirements and procedures have been completed.

Click here for more information about the Free Trade Agreement between Oman and the U.S.