The oceanic tidal angular momentum (OTAM) has been demonstrated to be the primary cause for the diurnal and semidiurnal variations in the Earth's rotational rate, or ΔUT1. Three ocean tide models derived from the Topex/Poseidon altimetry mission are employed to yield predictions of ΔUT1 for eight major diurnal/semidiurnal tides. The predictions are compared with geodetic determinations of ΔUT1 from the very-long-baseline interferometry data both for long-term observations and during intensive campaigns. The agreement is good, with discrepancies typically within 2--3 &mgr;s. Systematic discrepancies observed for the well-determined M2 tide clearly reveal the contribution of the Earth's spin libration. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995