CSMS Message: 09-000021

Presidential Proclamation 8332, dated December 29, 2008 and published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2008, implemented the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement (UOFTA) for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after January 1, 2009. Importers and brokers may file claims for preferential tariff treatment on goods that originate under the UOFTA. These claims may be made at the time of entry summary by placing the SPI “OM” on the CBP Form 7501 as a prefix to the HTS item number for each line on which preferential treatment is claimed.

This office issued implementation instructions for the UOFTA on January 7, 2009, entitled “U.S. - Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Instructions,” that can be found on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website at the following URL:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/international_agreements/free_trade/oman/

The programming updates to the Automated Commercial System (ACS) allowing for automated processing have not yet been completed. Therefore, until further notice, importers claiming preference under the UOFTA should file manual entries or file ABI entries at release with manual entry summaries.

Please direct any questions to Ms. Heather Sykes, International Coordination Branch (heather.sykes@dhs.gov).