Consumer Goods

• Trade and Tariffs
• Tariff Elimination

Trade and Tariffs

Consumer goods include household appliances, furniture, toys, recreational equipment, precious metals and jewelry, and other miscellaneous household products. The Uruguay Round sector agreements on furniture and toys are included within this sector. Consumer goods, which accounted for 1.6 percent of total U.S. non-textile industrial good exports to Oman in 2003, totaled $5.8 million. Miscellaneous consumer goods lead U.S. exports in the sector, accounting for 51 percent of total U.S. consumer goods exports to the region. Glass fiber articles, air-conditioning machines, washing machine parts, leisure boats, wooden furniture, and toy construction sets are leading U.S. exports.

Oman applies either no tariff or a 5 percent tariff to imports of consumer good. Oman’s average tariff rate for this sector is 4.98 percent.

Oman’s exports to the United States in this sector were approximately $42.2 million in 2003, or about 10 percent of Oman’s total exports to the United States. Precious metals and jewelry exports dominated this sector and accounted for approximately 72 percent of total consumer goods exports from Oman to the United States. Wooden furniture is another significant export.

U.S. tariffs on consumer goods range from 0 to 38.8 percent, with an average of 4.27 percent. Tariffs are highest on corn brooms.

Tariff Elimination

The U.S.-Oman FTA will eliminate all industrial tariffs in the United States and Oman within 10 years of implementation. Tariffs will be phased out according to three tariff elimination categories: 1) immediate elimination, 2) equal cuts over 5 years, and 3) equal cuts over 10 years.

Currently, 33 percent of all consumer goods including appliances, furniture, recreational goods, and toys imported into the United States receive duty-free treatment. Upon implementation of the agreement, the United States will grant immediate duty-free treatment to an additional 66 percent of imports. The remaining one percent of tariffs on specific ceramic and porcelain goods will be phased out over the course of ten years.

Oman currently allows only 0.36 percent of consumer goods to enter duty-free. 100 percent of consumer goods will get duty-free treatment immediately upon implementation of the agreement.

International Trade Administration
Manufacturing and Services
Office of Trade Policy Analysis