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The Office of the United States Trade Representative

Statement by USTR Susan C. Schwab on the Recent Royal Decree Amending Oman’s Labor Law
07/13/2006

"I congratulate and applaud His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, for issuing a Royal Decree on July 9 amending Oman’s labor law to address many of the issues that the United States has raised in the course of Congressional consideration of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement.

"Although the Government of Oman had committed to implement a number of changes by October 31, Oman has taken an extraordinary step in addressing many of these commitments almost four months early and clearly demonstrated that it takes labor law reforms seriously. Oman is preparing additional regulations to address the remaining issues and is committed to adopting those decisions by October 31.

"Oman has been a solid partner in the fight against terrorism and extremism, and the action taken by the Sultan is yet another example of how Oman fulfills its commitments to the United States."

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