ACC criticises 'wrong' decision to cancel Jordan-Turkey FTA

AMMAN — The Amman Chamber of Commerce’s (ACC) board on Saturday said that cancelling the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey was a “wrong and rash” decision that has damaged the trade sector and Jordanian consumers as well as factories that export to Turkey. 

During a meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Jordan Murat Karagöz, the ACC board said that the FTA should have been amended to rectify any  issues, if found, in order to protect national industries, as opposed to “completely cancelling” the agreement, the drafting of which required five years of negotiations between the two governments, according to a statement by the ACC. 

The commercial sector believes that the Jordanian economy’s best interests lie in the presence of strong economic relations with Turkey in various sectors, the ACC said, stressing the right of citizens to high-quality products at affordable prices. 

“Cancelling the agreement would not protect local industry since importing is available from countries that provide products of lower quality at lower prices,” the board said. 

The board called on the government to initiate “serious negotiations” with the Turkish side with the aim of drafting a new FTA in cooperation with the private sector to guarantee the protection of industrial sectors from any damage incurred as a result of exempting Turkish imports from customs. 

The board pointed to what had been proposed in a meeting between the ACC’s board and members of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce during their visit to the Kingdom in July, including the desire to invest in Jordan, boost trade exchange and raise the number of tourists to the Kingdom to 100,000 annually, as well as adopt the Kingdom as a destination for the study of Arabic.   

Talks with the Turkish ambassador also went over the ACC’s latest arrangements to hold a “Jordanian week” in Istanbul that would provide information on the Kingdom’s investment opportunities and promote Jordanian industries, products and services among others. 

For his part, the ambassador highlighted the role of Jordan’s private sector in enhancing economic relations.

In March 2018, the Cabinet suspended the FTA, citing its adverse impact on the local industrial sector and the Turkish side’s failure to fulfil its commitments under the partnership agreement that went into effect in 2011. 

In April of last year, the government said Jordan was willing to reactivate the free trade agreement with Turkey, if Turkey agreed to meet certain conditions.

The terms included the Turkish side’s consent to protection measures by Jordan to shield local industries, increasing Turkish technical assistance to Jordan as stipulated by the FTA and reconsidering the "strict" rules of origin specifications applied by Turkey.

Jordan wanted Ankara to adopt the same relaxed rules of origin Jordan enjoys under a deal signed with the EU.

In May of 2018, Jordan officially informed Turkey of its intent to completely terminate the FTA, which had been suspended in March, after efforts to find a “just” solution for the benefit of both sides reached a deadlock.

The agreement was officially terminated in November 2018 and custom duties ranging from 20 to 30 per cent were being imposed on Turkish imports.