Abu dhabi: Jordan and the United States have formalized a Reciprocal Trade Agreement designed to enhance economic relations and provide exporters in both nations with improved access to each other's markets, Jordan News Agency (Petra) reported. The agreement underscores the nations' commitment to building on their existing economic partnership, which includes the US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement effective since December 17, 2001.
According to Emirates News Agency, the Agreement was signed in Washington by Jordan's Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply, Yarub Qudah, and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The new pact aims to facilitate trade flows by boosting Jordanian exports to the U.S., particularly in the garment and textile sectors, while enabling smoother entry of American products, such as agricultural goods and motor vehicles, into the Jordanian market.
Key provisions of the Agreement include the US capping reciprocal tariffs on Jordanian imports at 10%, and granting enhanced preferential access to Jordan's textile and apparel sector in the American market. This move is anticipated to significantly increase Jordanian exports to the US, which have already reached JOD 595 million in the first four months of this year, driven by garments, textiles, jewelry, machinery, electrical equipment, and pharmaceuticals.
In exchange, Jordan will maintain duty-free treatment for US exports under the 2001 Free Trade Agreement framework. The deal also introduces measures to streamline trade operations by enforcing environmental laws, protecting labor rights, securing intellectual property rights, ensuring fair trade practices, and modernizing customs procedures, while removing non-tariff barriers to expand market access for US goods.
This Agreement is part of a series of recent commercial deals that highlight the growing economic synergy between the two countries. Notable deals include Royal Jordanian Airlines' $1.4 billion purchase of six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, $500 million in long-term lease agreements for additional aircraft, Hikma's $1 billion investment commitment in the U.S. by 2030, and agreements by Jordanian companies to purchase over $300 million in U.S. raw materials annually.
