Some 22 export deals worth $2.85 million were signed between Jordanian and American manufacturers in the first quarter of 2002, official statistics confirmed. Jordanian exports to the United States reached 45 million Jordanian dinars ($63 million) in the first quarter of 2002, compared to JD 20 million during the same period in the previous year.
The Kingdom’s imports from the US in the first three months of 2002 reached JD 81 million, up from JD 65 million from the same period in the previous year, tilting the Jordan-US trade balance in favor of the US.
Jordan’s exports to the US mainly consist of textiles manufactured in the Kingdom's four industrial zones. The merchandise arrives to the US duty-free and quota-free provided that a minimum eight percent of their input is of Israeli origin.
In December 2001, Jordan signed a Free Trade Agreement with US. The deal eliminates all tariffs on two-way trade in goods and services over a 10-year period, an arrangement the US currently has with only three other countries; Canada, Mexico and Israel.
Jordan, a key US Arab ally, receives annual economic aid from the US of $150 million and military assistance estimated at between $50 and $70 million. The Kingdom, struggling with a seven-billion-dollar foreign debt and 25 percent unemployment rate, launched a major economic liberalization program at the end of 1998. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
