FT: Washington seals trade agreement with Oman
Financial Times, London
Washington seals trade agreement with Oman
By Ben Bain and Edward Alden in Washington
Published: October 4 2005
The US and Oman said on Monday they had concluded talks on a free trade agreement, the fifth deal completed in the Middle East by the US as part of an effort to build a web of economic ties in the region over the next decade.
The agreement, which took only seven months to negotiate, follows deals concluded recently with Bahrain and Morocco, which were the first steps towards the larger US goal of a regionwide free trade area over the next decade. The US also has free trade deals with Jordan and Israel.
Further negotiations are under way with the United Arab Emirates, the third largest US trading partner in the region, while talks with Egypt, its fourth largest partner, may be launched by the end of the year.
Maqbool Bin Ali Sultan, Oman’s minister of commerce and industry, called the conclusion of the negotiations “a milestone in the multi-faceted relationship between Oman and the United States”.
He added: “It is a balanced and mutually advantageous agreement which will consolidate, slowly define and further strengthen the existing economic and trade relations between our two friendly countries.”
Rob Portman, the US trade representative, said the agreement would help to “advance economic growth and democracy in the region”.
“Oman’s decisive embrace of free trade and open markets paved the way for these negotiations to close so quickly and so successfully,” he said.
While two-way trade between the US and Oman is relatively small $748m last year the quick negotiation of the deal is a strong sign that the US push for freer trade in the region is gaining traction. If the agreement is ratified by Congress, all US industrial and consumer products exports, as well as most agricultural exports will immediately go to Oman duty-free. Most Omani exports to the US are already duty-free under existing preference programmes.
The agreement with Bahrain is likely to be approved by Congress before the end of this year, and the US administration is hoping to push through several more agreements in the region before its trade negotiating authority from Congress expires in the middle of 2007.
Separately, Mr Portman announced the US would appeal against a World Trade Organisation dispute settlement ruling last week that Washington had failed to eliminate an illegal tax subsidy for exporters. The appeal on the Foreign Sales Corporation tax scheme will forestall a European Union threat to retaliate against US imports at the end of this year.
