Oman Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in oman, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Standards for Trade
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As part of the GCC Customs Union, Oman is working toward unifying its standards and conformity assessment systems with those of the GCC through the Gulf Standards Organization (GSO). Oman generally enforces GSO standards. Most Omani standards are either GSO standards or those derived from another international standards organization. Oman is party to the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement and is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Furthermore, the U.S.-Oman FTA contains a chapter addressing standards as barriers to trade and facilitates bilateral engagement on standards issues. 

American businesspeople at times note that Oman employs European standards in tender specifications.

Standards

The Directorate General of Specifications and Metrology (DGSM) at the MOCIIP is responsible for standardization, metrology, testing, quality control and quality assurance, conformity assessment and certification, and accreditation activities. Oman is harmonizing its technical regulations and standards at the GCC level and develops technical regulations and standards at the national level only if there is a pressing need, according to authorities. 

DGSM’s point of contact and address is the following:

Mr. Emad bin Khamis Al Shukaili

Director General of Specifications and Metrology 

Directorate General for Specifications and Metrology
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion 
Way 3505, Ruwi, Muscat
Tel: +968 2477 4818
 

The address for the regional customs union standards body is the following: 

GCC Standardization Organization 
Diplomatic quarter, Aladeem Street, Near the Egyptian Embassy

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Phone: +966 920 033 992
Fax: +966 11 520 8010
Email: csc@gso.org.sa / gso@gso.org.sa

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Notify U.S. Service

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify to the WTO of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade. Notify U.S. is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country or countries and industry sector(s) of interest and can also request full texts of regulations. This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Testing, Inspection, and Certification

The Directorate General of Animal Wealth inspects imports of foodstuffs of animal origin to ensure that they are free from contaminants. Omani authorities require a manufacturer declaration to assure conformity to Omani/GCC standards. The DGSM should receive a letter with authenticated results of laboratory testing in cases of nonconformity to current standards or the need for consideration of other internationally recognized standards.

Authorities allow non-food products automatic entry into Oman based on a Manufacturer’s Declaration of Conformity Assessment Certificate, with a test report verified by the DGSM Authorities temporarily release and test samples of imported products that are not covered by certificates. 

The DGSM requires any laboratory testing certificates relating to conformity to Omani or international standards.

Publication of Technical Regulations

The DGSM supplies upon request a CD-ROM containing a listing of all standards and specifications adopted by the GSO, along with related information.

Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. 

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by WTO Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995, to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and is a versatile tool that can be used to: 

  • Follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest,
  • Receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are distributed,
  • Find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees.


Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates an Enquiry Point. National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat.  All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Enquiry Point. Refer to the comment guidance at https://www.nist.gov/notifyus/commenting for further information. This guidance is provided to assist U.S. stakeholders in the preparation and submission of comments in response to notifications of proposed foreign technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

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Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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