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A Study Of The Formative Factors Of The Free Trade Agreement Between Oman And The United States, Gregory Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates the process by which the Omani-American Free Trade Agreement was so quickly agreed upon between Omani and American negotiators. By interviewing the major government officials involved in the architecture of the agreement, and by examining the role of other institutions and interest groups that are typically involved in the process in the US, the author demonstrates how very narrow the policy-making arena in Oman is. He argues that the benefits Oman hoped to gain from the agreement were far more political than economic, but that political liberalization is more important than economic liberalization for the long-term interests …