Oman is holding talks with the US to review the implications of reciprocal tariffs, according to a news report.
“Despite the existing free trade agreement with the US, the new tariff
measures have included Omani exports,” Oman Daily Observer, a local news outlet, reported, quoting Shaikh Saud Al Nahari, a board member of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI).
Adham bin Turki Al Said, chairman of the economic committee at OCCI, said that the imposition of uniform global tariffs represents a significant challenge for Omani trade.
Omani institutions must monitor these developments and verify tariff codes and the country of origin to benefit from exemptions, he said.
Donald Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on the six-nation GCC bloc of Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar on April 3.
Yet a senior official said at the time that these will have a minimum effect on Oman’s economy.
“The US tariffs apply only for our non-energy products and not to our crude oil, gas and refined oil, so there will be limited impact on our finances,” Dr Nasser Al Maawali, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, said in an interview with Oman Television.
Dr Venkat Thumiki, assistant professor of economy at Modern College of Business and Science, based in Muscat, also told AGBI. “I don’t expect Oman’s exports to the United States in 2025 to cross the $1.5 billion mark. That will mean, to the extreme, the 10 percent tariff will cost Oman not more than $150 million at the maximum.”
Amy Hawn, managing partner at the Omani Trade Office in the United States, said that the sultanate’s FTA with the US provides exports with a competitive margin compared to non-FTA countries.
The US-Oman FTA came into force on January 1, 2009, wherein Muscat provides duty-free access to all industrial and consumer products.
The US goods trade surplus with Oman has risen to $634.3 million in 2024, up from $530.1 million in 2008 since the FTA, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. US goods exports reached $2 billion last year, up 5 percent from 2023.
US imports from Oman were down 20 percent year on year to $1.3 billion in 2024. The sultanate was the 67th largest goods export market for the US in 2024.
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