In the story number 12, please read the title of the story as follows: 'The US Signs Trade Agreement with Oman', thanks. Here is the story again: Washington, Jan 20, SPA -- The United States Thursday signed a free-trade agreement with Oman. U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman described the U.S.-Oman agreement as "an important step in the effort to establish a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013." The agreement has yet to pass Congress, but Portman said he was optimistic about the deal's prospects . The United States is also considering trade agreements with several other Gulf countries "and there's always the possibility of Iraq and Afghanistan" as well as Libya, Portman said. Under the deal, both countries will eliminate duties on almost all industrial and consumer goods. One exception is textiles and clothing - a sensitive area for the United States and a major Omani export - where some protections will remain. Two-way trade between the United States and Oman was about $1 billion in 2005, a tiny fraction of the $70 billion trading relationship between the United States and the Middle East region.
