The U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement is a trade pact between Oman and the United States. On November 15, 2004, the George W. Bush administration notified the U.S. Congress of its intent to sign a trade agreement with the Middle Eastern Sultanate of Oman. On January 19, 2006 the two countries signed the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA), which is part of the Bush administration's strategy to create a US - Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) by 2013.
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| Type | Free trade agreement |
| Drafted | 19 January 2006 |
| Signed | 19 January 2006 |
| Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Effective | 1 January 2009 |
| Condition | 2 months after notification of each state that all internal procedures have been completed |
| Ratifiers | |
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| Long title | To implement the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement. |
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| Enacted by | the 109th United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub. L. 109–283 (text) (PDF) |
| Legislative history | |
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On June 29, 2006, the U.S. Senate passed OFTA by a vote of 60-34,[1] the fewest "aye" votes in the Senate of any trade bill other than CAFTA. On July 20, 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives passed OFTA by a vote of 221-205, with 7 abstentions.[2] For procedural reasons, the Senate took a second vote on September 19, 2006, and the bill's implementing bill was passed 62-32, with 6 abstentions.[3] In all, the Senate approved the bill 63-37, since all senators voted either "aye" or "nay" in one of the two votes.
George W. Bush signed the bill into law on September 26, 2006.[4] And on December 29, 2008 signed the proclamation to implement the agreement with effective date of January 1, 2009.[5]
Views in favor of OFTA
editAccording to the U.S. Trade Representative's office and other proponents of the pact, OFTA is an important step towards reducing barriers to trade in goods and services in Oman.
See more
editReferences
edit- ^ 109th Congress (2006) (June 26, 2006). "S. 3569 (109th)". Legislation. GovTrack.us. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ 109th Congress (2006) (June 26, 2006). "H.R. 5684 (109th)". Legislation. GovTrack.us. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Senate roll call vote Archived September 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Kuwait News Agency story Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Presidential Proclamation of December 29, 2008
External links
edit- U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Oman FTA
- U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Oman FTA
- Congressional Research Service Study on OFTA
- U.S. International Trade Commission Report on OFTA
- State Department Report on Human Trafficking in Oman
- Roll Call Story on News Conference with Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) on port security implications of OFTA
- Congressional Research Service Memo on OFTA and port security issues[permanent dead link]
- Testimony on OFTA of David Hamod, National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce
- Jerusalem Post Story on OFTA and Oman's Observance of a Boycott of Israel