The Jordanian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed on 24 October 2000. It will enter into force as the third U.S. free trade agreement and the first ever concluded with an Arab state. The free trade agreement is the cornerstone of the growing cooperation between the United States and Jordan in economic relations, which began with close bilateral cooperation upon Jordan`s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and was followed by the conclusion of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and a bilateral investment agreement. The free trade agreement serves Jordan`s neighbours as an example of the benefits of peace and economic reform. The Parties recognise that the anti-competitive conduct of undertakings is incompatible with the proper functioning of the Agreement in so far as it may affect trade between the Parties. Unlike many trade agreements, the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement has enjoyed broad bipartisan, multi-sectoral support. Proponents stressed that the dismantling of tariffs and other trade barriers was a boon for exports. [3] The provisions on the protection of intellectual property rights (Article 17 and Annex VI) concern, inter alia, patents, trademarks, copyrights and geographical indications.
Jordan became a “magnet for apparel manufacturing” when U.S. companies like Wal-Mart, Target and Hanes set up factories to cut costs by eliminating tariffs. In its first year of existence, Jordan had increased its exports by 213 per cent and created 30,000 jobs. Until 2002, Jordan had a marginal trade surplus with the United States. [1] Five years after the entry into force of the free trade agreement, Jordanian exports to America had increased twentyfold; Jordan`s apparel exports to the United States amounted to $1.2 billion in 2005. [6] Most Jordanian exports to the United States come from one in 114 companies. [7] Describes the trade agreements in which this country is involved. Contains resources where U.S. companies can learn how to use these agreements. The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement, signed on September 28, 2001, was the first free trade agreement signed by the United States with an Arab country (and the fourth free trade agreement behind Israel, Canada, and Mexico).
Products must be composed of at least 35% Jordanian content in order to benefit from commercial benefits. [1] The Free Trade Agreement is the first trade agreement to include substantive provisions on e-commerce, a step that should help advance a global free trade agenda in a sector critical to U.S. high-tech and multimedia companies. The two countries agreed to avoid the imposition of tariffs on electronic transmissions, create unnecessary barriers to market access for digitized products, and impede the ability to provide services electronically. These provisions are also linked to commitments in the field of services which, taken together, aim to promote investment in new technologies and to promote the innovative use of networks for the provision of products and services. The agreement will significantly liberalize bilateral trade in services in a wide range of services sectors. Trade in basic agricultural products is the subject of three bilateral agricultural agreements negotiated between the respective EFTA State (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland/Liechtenstein) and Jordan. These agreements are part of the instruments for establishing the free trade area. Jordan`s multitude of free trade agreements (FTAs) has created a tool for national economic development and greater integration into the global economy. In 1997, King Hussein signed the Great Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA), the first in a series of trade agreements.
In the 2000s, Jordan signed more than seven free trade agreements, making its economy one of the most open in the Middle East. These developments demonstrate the Kingdom`s commitment to the policy of economic liberalization, as well as its efforts to strengthen political ties through commercial diplomacy. The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2000 and entered into effect in January 2010. The free trade agreement is considered a lasting success. Since the start of the free trade agreement, bilateral trade in goods and services has reached $4.068 billion in 2020, including $542 million in exports of goods. Services have also developed rapidly, particularly in the areas of information technology, financial services and management consulting. ==External links==Exports of goods and services to Jordan amounted to USD 1.861 billion, of which USD 1.319 billion and USD 542 million respectively. Estimated USD For EFTA-Jordan Trade Statistics See EFTA Trade Statistics Tool At the last Meeting of the Joint Committee in May 2016, the United States and Jordan discussed labour, agriculture, in particular current technical barriers to agricultural trade.
Adoption of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement and accession to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. The parties opened a dialogue to identify concrete measures to promote trade and investment bilaterally and between Jordan and other countries in the Middle East. After the conclusion of the meetings, the issue of import licensing for poultry from the United States was resolved to allow the importation of U.S. poultry into Jordan. Poultry imports of US$8 million were exported to Jordan in 2017. In addition to the United States, Jordan is also a party to bilateral trade agreements with Canada and Singapore and a signatory to several regional trade agreements, including the European Free Trade Association (Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein), the Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA) and the Aghadir Agreement (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia), which is linked to the Association Agreement (EU). U.S. companies will find competitors from Europe, the Middle East and Asia seeking government tenders and market share in the Jordanian import sector. The free trade agreement with Jordan leads to significant and comprehensive liberalisation on a wide range of trade issues. Within ten years, it will remove all tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade for almost all industrial goods and agricultural products.
The Agreement applies to trade in fish and other marine products (Annex II). From the entry into force of the Agreement, the EFTA States shall grant duty-free access to all Jordanian fishery products. By 2005 (3 years after entry into force), the remaining Jordanian duties on certain fishery products had been reduced to zero. While trade relations between Jordan and the United States are strong, the Kingdom has also actively sought to further integrate into the regional economy. AALPA is part of efforts to strengthen economic cooperation among the 22 member states of the Arab League. The agreement entered into full force in 2005 and led to several exemptions from customs duties and fees. GaFTA significantly increased Jordan`s trade relations with neighboring countries in 2014 The volume of trade with GAFTA members amounted to 7.53 billion Jordanian dinars ($10.59 billion). The agreement also contains trade-related provisions on the environment and labour. These regulations do not require either country to enact new labour or environmental laws, and each country reserves the right to set its own labour and environmental standards and to amend these standards. Under the agreement, the two countries reaffirm the importance of not renouncing or derogating from their labour or environmental laws in order to promote trade and commit to effectively enforce their national labour and environmental laws. .