U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement
Tariff Elimination Schedule
On January 1, 2009, the day the U.S.-Oman FTA entered into force, Oman and the United States will provide duty-free treatment for virtually all products that qualify under the Agreement’s rules of origin. Tariffs on the remaining handful of products will be phased out within ten years. In fact, 100 percent of qualifying U.S. consumer and industrial products and 87 percent of qualifying U.S. agricultural products exported to Oman will become duty-free on the date the FTA enters into force.
To determine when products that qualify can enter Oman duty-free:
- It is necessary to obtain the appropriate HS/Schedule B number for your product.
- With this number it is then possible to check the Oman FTA Tariff Elimination schedule to find out at what rate the duties on your product will be reduced. Each line item of the U.S. and Oman FTA tariff schedules are assigned a letter code that indicates the staging by which the current tariff for each item is reduced and ultimately eliminated. The schedules also note the base rate of customs duty, which is used to determine the starting point and interim rate at each stage of reduction for an item. View the Tariff Schedule of Oman.
- Check whether your product qualifies under the FTA rules of origin.
For importing goods from Oman to the United States, you would check the U.S. tariff schedule.
Staging Categories
The staging categories are defined in Chapter 2, Annex 2-B of the Agreement.
Category A: Goods become duty-free on the date that the FTA enters into force.
Category B: Duties will be eliminated in five equal annual stages beginning on the date the Agreement enters into force, and shall be duty-free effective on January 1 of year five.
Category C: Duties will be eliminated in ten equal annual stages beginning on the date the Agreement enters unto force, and shall be duty-free effective on January 1 of year ten.
Category D: Goods already receiving duty-free treatment shall continue to receive duty-free treatment.
Category E: Duties will remain at base rates during years one thorough nine, and duties will be removed, and such goods shall be duty-free, effective on January 1 of year ten.
Category H: Duties shall remain at base rates (those rates in effect on January 1, 2005) during years one through nine. Duties will be eliminated effective January 1 of year ten. Oman noted that it may retain internal fees or excise charges on these goods.
Category I: Duties shall remain at base rates (those rates in effect on January 1, 2005) during years one through nine. Duties will be eliminated effective January 1 of year ten. Oman noted that it may continue to prohibit the importation of goods provided for in the items in Staging Category I.
Sample Calculations for Exports to Oman
The following examples are expressed in terms of the Customs Tariff Schedule of Oman, which is similar to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), but is not exactly identical.
Tomato Puree (HS 2002.90.90): According to the Oman FTA Tariff Elimination schedule, this product has been designated as Staging Category A with a base rate of 5 percent. Qualifying U.S. exports will be duty-free on the date that the FTA enters into force.
Tomato Paste (HS 2002.90.10): According to the Oman FTA Tariff Elimination schedule, this product has been designated Staging Category B with a base rate of 5 percent. Beginning on the date the FTA enters into force, the duty will be reduced on a yearly basis in five equal stages. Thus, upon entry into force, the duty-rate for this good will be 4 percent. The duty will continue to drop incrementally, to 3 percent in year two, 2 percent in year three, etc., until the product becomes duty-free on the first day of year five.
Prepared by the International Trade Administration
Trade Information Center