Senior US Commerce Department official celebrates 20th anniversary of US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement with virtual commercial diplomacy visit

AMMAN —  US Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) of Commerce for Middle East and Africa, Camille Richardson on Thursday concluded a three-day virtual commercial diplomacy visit to Jordan. 

During her visit, Richardson met with Jordanian business and government leaders to advance US government efforts to expand trade, discussed water projects and public-private partnerships, and engaged key Jordanian women business leaders, according to a US embassy statement .

Richardson’s visit came as the United States and Jordan celebrate the 20^th anniversary of their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) — the first US FTA with an Arab country. The FTA has helped diversify Jordan’s economy while growing bilateral trade between Jordan and the United States by over 800 per cent since 2000, the statement said. 

The agreement has expanded the trade relationship by reducing barriers to trade, providing cutting-edge protections for intellectual property, ensuring regulatory transparency, and requiring effective implementation and enforcement of international standards regarding labour rights and environmental protection.  

In her meetings with the Public-Private Partnership Unit and with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Richardson discussed Jordan’s priority projects. During these meetings, Richardson reinforced the shared commitment to strengthen ongoing partnership and further deepen commercial ties. 

Additionally, as part of a roundtable event organised by AmCham Jordan, Richardson met with business representatives in the Jordanian market to discuss challenges as well as opportunities to advance bilateral commercial interests.

Richardson spotlighted initiatives to further strengthen business ties, noting that, “Economic prosperity is a common interest. The US Commercial Service at the US embassy in Amman values its collaboration with AmCham-Jordan. Our shared efforts help to promote trade and investment, which contribute to economic opportunities in both the United States and Jordan.” 

As an advocate for women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, Richardson also led a discussion featuring several accomplished businesswomen in Jordan. Participants shared valuable perspectives on women’s entrepreneurship and potential for business relations between women-led businesses in the United States and Jordan. 

Richardson communicated commerce priorities including the Select Global Women in Tech (SGWIT) and Women Empowered Leave Legacies Through Trade and Investment (WELLTI) initiatives. Highlighting WELLTI, an initiative that she recently launched, Richardson noted that, “…promoting linkages between women-owned businesses in the United States and the Middle East and Africa can serve as an important platform for facilitating international growth.”

Launching concrete follow-on events is a focus of the virtual trip, with Richardson expressing a desire to continue discussions with a WELLTI “virtual coffee-chat” with Jordanian women business leaders in September. 

Richardson’s visit builds on the recent launch of the InvesTech 2021 workshops and pitch-fest for start-ups and tech companies in the region, the statement said. InvesTech2021 was organised by the US Commercial Service at the US embassy in Amman in partnership with SelectUSA, the Commerce Department’s programme to promote foreign direct investment into the United States.