United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
UNITED STATES-OMAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - July 20, 2006)
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Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time, and I am pleased today to rise in strong support of this agreement, the Oman Free Trade Agreement.
With the Doha Round of multilateral talks teetering on the brink of collapse, we need more than ever to pursue a bilateral trade agenda that makes some real gains for American workers and American consumers who, after all, are one and the same. That is
precisely what the Oman Free Trade Agreement does.
The Oman FTA is quite simply a win-win. In 2005, trade between the United States and Oman exceeded $1 billion. The U.S. exported $594 million in goods alone to Oman last year. While some will stand here today, beat their breasts and claim that we are going to lose jobs with this trade agreement, nothing could be further from the truth.
I ask Members to think back to economics 101. Exporting goods creates jobs here at home, and importing goods will create jobs. Consumer and industrial goods will be 100 percent duty free on day one of the trade agreement's entry into force. There will be significant gains in the agriculture and service sectors. These are the kinds of tangible changes we want and we need to bring home to our constituents.
Liberalization of trade in services is sometimes overlooked, but it is absolutely essential to keeping our economy competitive. The services sector represents 75 percent of our country's economic output and it is 80 percent of our workforce. U.S. firms have a strong advantage in the services sector, and it becomes even stronger as we add each country like Oman to an FTA.
But the economic gains are relatively small compared to the impact that a trade agreement with Oman will have in keeping Americans safe. The bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommended a comprehensive strategy to defeat terrorism, that includes economic policies, that encourages development, more open societies and opportunities for people to improve the lives of their families.
As a result of this recommendation, the administration authorized negotiations with Oman as part of the plan to create a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013. This is a step in that direction, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this free trade agreement.
Oman leads the Persian Gulf in establishing trade and other ties with Israel. It has eliminated all aspects of its boycott with Israel and when Oman acceded to the WTO in 2000, it did not request an exemption for Israel that would allow it to maintain a boycott. This is a rare exception in a tough neighborhood. I ask my colleagues today to join me in showing our commitment to Oman, is a steadfast ally in a region of the world where we need all the friends we can get.
Vote for the Oman Free Trade Pact.
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