The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a landmark US-Jordan free trade deal which is expected to serve as a model for future free trade pacts.
The agreement, negotiated last year under former president Bill Clinton, was overwhelmingly approved by a voice vote in the 435-seat chamber, said AFP.
A similar bill must now be approved by the Senate, in spite of a prominent Republican senator's objections to the pact's labor and environmental provisions.
The agreement would eliminate all tariffs on two-way trade in goods and services over a 10-year period, an arrangement the United States currently has with only three other countries: Canada, Mexico and Israel.
According to AFP, the pact is seen as a model for future US free trade pacts. However, some Republican senators have expressed concern because it is the first such deal to carry specific labor and environmental guarantees -- measures long sought by trade unions.
Jordan’s ambassador to US, Marwan Muasher, earlier said the US-Jordan FTA would boost the kingdom's economy, attract foreign investment, help ease unemployment and increase Jordanian exports to the US.
He attributed a several months-long delay in Congress to ideological differences between Democrats and Republicans over the labor and environmental provisions.
The FTA, inked by the US and Jordan last October, has attracted attention because for the first time, this kind of agreement includes provisions on protecting labor rights and upholding environmental standards, a Jordanian source had told the Jordan Times last month.
In order to address the concerns raised during the debate, Jordan and the US have exchanged letters pledging not to use sanctions to enforce labor and environmental provisions, news agencies reported - Albawaba.com
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