Around 500 Arab and foreign businessmen, investors and officials from 12 countries are expected to attend a conference on the Jordan-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) scheduled for September 12, organizers said Wednesday.
The two-day event, organized by the Jordanian-American Business Association (JABA), seeks to enhance local and international awareness of the agreement and the opportunities it is set to create, they told the Jordan Times.
The gathering will feature key Jordanian, American and Middle Eastern speakers who will talk on various topics including US-Jordan trade and investment relations, market access, export mechanisms, rules of origin and intellectual property rights.
Also, a session will be dedicated to presenting the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the Mexican economy.
An exhibition of Jordanian and American products and services will also be held on the sidelines of the conference, they added.
AJEX 2001— American Jordanian Expo — will display goods and services of some 45 companies at the Le Meredien Hotel, said JABA chairman Fawaz Shalan.
He told the paper that the first two days of the expo would be business-to-business, so that matchmaking services could be arranged between exhibitors and businesspeople.
The last two days, he said, would be business-to-consumers, as the expo would be open to the general public.
Established in 1999, JABA is a non-profit business association that seeks to promote investments and commerce between the kingdom and the US.
The FTA agreement Jordan reached with the Clinton administration last October would phase out all tariff barriers over a 10-year period.
If approved by the US Congress, the kingdom would become only the fourth country, after Canada, Mexico and Israel, to sign an FTA with the US.
AFP reported on Wednesday that the US Senate finance committee had approved a historic trade agreement with Vietnam and was prepared to vote on a similar pact with Jordan.
But, AFP added, a key Republican threatened to block further action on the Jordan-US agreement because of its labor and environmental provisions – Albawaba.com
