Free trade agreement with US ‘puts Jordan’s interest first’ — Bataineh

AMMAN — Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan Mohammed Bataineh on Sunday stressed that “the free trade agreement with the US puts Jordan’s interest first”.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra,  Bataineh noted that the free trade agreement that was signed in 2000 and entered into full force in January 2010, increased the two countries’ trade exchange by an estimated 800 per cent. 

 He added that despite the COVID pandemic and challenges to trade, the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to $3.2 billion during 2020, including $1.32 billion in exports. 

The chairman highlighted that the two countries’ trade exchange during the first third of 2021 amounted to $1.2 billion, of which $420 million were exports from Jordan, noting that of all Jordanian exports, 20 per cent go to the US market. 

Bataineh expected 2021’s trade exchange between the two countries’ to exceed $4.8 billion given the strong trade activity observed since the beginning of the year. 

Among Jordanian exports to the US market, knitwear, fertilisers, IT services, Dead Sea products, jewellery and foodstuffs are the most prominent, while imports mainly include electrical and electronic parts that are used in the manufacturing of devices. 

Thanks to His Majesty King Abdullah’s relations with Washington, “US doors are always open to Jordanians,” Bataineh added. 

He stressed that Jordan’s geopolitical location distinguishes it on various fronts, adding that international exporters and importers are developing greater interest in Jordan. 

Bataineh explained that the Jordan-US free trade agreement strengthened bilateral economic ties by eliminating customs duties and taxes for the bilateral exchange of US and Jordanian goods and services, removing obstacles, and regulating joint policies. 

He added that the agreement is the first free trade agreement signed by the US with an Arab country.

The goal of the agreement goes beyond increasing trade between the two countries to include encouragement of investment and job creation, Bataineh further noted. 

He indicated that Jordan nowadays hosts some of the “giants” of the US private sector, such as the East Amman Power Plant (IES), Alpamarle, Cargill, Microsoft, Cisco, Delmonte, and others. 

Jordan is working on diversifying exports through the National Trade Coalition, a platform that organises the chamber’s work, and includes the US government and the Jordanian government represented by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, the Chambers of Industry and Commerce, the Food and Drug Aministration, the Customs Department and Jordan Exports, among others. 

He added that the National Trade Coalition, which was established in 2001, achieves what Jordan has been seeking in recent years, which is a dialogue between the public and private sectors. 

It also aims to strengthen bilateral economic relations, through the implementation of targeted programmes, such as the Export Growth Pathway Programme, to promote trade and investment between the two countries, and to link Jordanian companies with US importers. 

He pointed out that Jordanian food products are very popular in the US market, pointing out that the Chamber participated as a representative of five local food-manufacturing companies, in the International Trade Fair for Sweets and Snacks 2021, which was held in the past days in Indiana. 

Bataineh indicated that the chamber, which was established in 1999, chairs the American Chambers of Commerce Group in the Middle East and North Africa and accompanies economic delegations to promote Jordan economically and introduce investment and trade opportunities.