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PRESS/TPRB/301 
25 June 2008 
 
(08-2996) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: SULTANATE OF OMAN 
Impressive performance that continued reform would help sustain 
A liberal trade regime has been integral to Oman’s impressive economic performance over the past few years, with high real GDP growth, low inflation, and surpluses in both its overall fiscal position 
and external current account, according to a repo rt on the trade polices and practices of Oman 
published by the WTO Secretariat.   
An additional favourable factor is that Oman has moved to improve its investment climate. 
Nonetheless, the report indicates that a number of activities are still subject to FDI restrictions 
(e.g. tourism, and internal waterway and taxi transportation). 
 
The report also notes that a key element of Oman’s reform process relates to full economic integration under the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which the customs union component was 
launched on 1 January 2003. Oman also participates in the Pan Arab Free Trade Area (PAFTA), and 
has signed a trade agreement (not yet in force) with the United States.   
The report also stresses that Oman needs to bring some elements of its trade regime into greater 
conformity with WTO provisions. Continued reforms, including dismantling of the remaining impediments to FDI, and further improvement of Oman’s multilateral commitments, both on goods 
and services, would contribute to better resource allocation, and increase the predictability of its 
trade regime.  
The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Oman, will be the basis for 
the first TPR of Oman by the Trade Policy Re view Body of the WTO on 25 and 27 June 2008. 
 
 
The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/ tratop_e/tpr_e/tp301_e.htm
 
 
• Secretariat reports 
> Contents and summary observations  
> Economic environment  
> Trade and investment regimes  > Trade policies and practices by measure  PRESS/TPRB/301 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
 > Trade policies by sector  
> Appendix tables  
• Report by Government of Oman 
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
• Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). 
Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO Agreement, in which member 
countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents 
are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in  the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 
Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at 
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews   
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly 
Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States 
Next reviews: 
Singapore: 14 and 16 of July 2008 
Barbados: 17 and 19 September 2008 
Republic of Korea: 8 and 10 October 2008 
 
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews 
  
 
END