Jordan-US FTA a ‘true success story’ — ACC chief 

AMMAN — The Jordan-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) represents a "true success story" that brought many economic benefits to the Kingdom, Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) Chairman Khalil Haj Tawfiq said on Monday.

Haj Tawfiq told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the US is one of Jordan's most important trading partners and noted that the FTA has been a powerful tool to attract US investments to the Kingdom, which currently stands at $2.2 billion.

The chairman also said that the agreement helped boost bilateral business relations in the commercial, service, agricultural and tourism fields to support Jordan’s recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also referred to His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts to strengthen economic relations with Washington through signing the FTA, which at the time was the first US free trade agreement with an Arab country.

The FTA has also enhanced ties between the two countries, expanded two-way trade by tangible figures, maximised export opportunities and attracted non-US investments to benefit from the FTA.

Haj Tawfiq indicated that the Kingdom’s food imports from the US help build its strategic stockpile of food commodities, especially wheat, rice, poultry, corn, nuts and canned goods. 

The chairman urged the agricultural sector to take advantage of the FTA through the "halal industries", due to the Muslim population’s growing market presence in the US. 

An ACC report on Jordan-US trade relations indicated that the two countries' trade exchanges have progressed since 2014, with Jordanian exports climbing from JD848 million in 2014 to JD1.220 billion in 2020.

The report also showed that Jordan’s exports to the US reached a value of JD1.382 billion, the highest value since the trade deal’s signing. Jordan’s imports from the US are valued at  JD1.109 billion.  

The report noted that just in the first quarter of 2021 the Kingdom’s exports to the US amounted to JD34 million, compared to JD245 million in imports from the US, according to Petra. 

According to the report, Jordan’s exports to the US include textile materials, medicines, metal products, air-conditioners, jewellery, food industry products, transportation equipment and livestock. Jordan’s imports include metal products, transportation equipment, machinery, electrical appliances, grains, chemical products, medical devices, food, animal products, furniture, used clothing, vegetable oils and wood.