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Ammon News -

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Maha Ali, said Jordan has a "distinguished" economic partnership with the United States, thanks to the efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah II and his "unceasing" quest to strengthen economic relations with many countries to serve the Kingdom's interests and consolidate areas of joint economic cooperation.

In an interview with "Petra" on Sunday, the minister said the United States is one of Jordan's most important economic partners, especially in the trade fields, which were framed by the free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the two countries in 2000 and entered into force in December 2001.

Jordan, she noted, was the first Arab country to sign a FTA with the United States, which reflects the "deep-rooted" bilateral cooperation relations.
The agreement, she said, contributed to maximizing the private sector's benefit from the American market's export opportunities, as Jordan's exports to the United States in 2000 amounted to about $63 million prior to the pact, however they rose "clearly" in the years following the agreement's entry into force.

Based on foreign trade data, Jordanian imports from the US market amounted to $454 million, and a trade balance deficit in favor of the US amounted to $391 million before the agreement was implemented, according to the minister.
Since 2002, which saw the agreement entering into force, the national economy achieved a surplus in the trade balance by $37 million, and the surplus continued to increase until it hit about $700 million during 2006, the minister pointed out.
The agreement, she noted, achieved further success, as the value of Jordan's exports to the US market last year exceeded $1.7 billion, of which about $1.3 billion were from the apparel sector's products.

The minister added that the agreement has enhanced attractiveness of Jordan's investment environment by attracting large investments with the aim of US-bound exports, and provided a framework for providing technical assistance in various fields to Jordan that contributed to increasing export opportunities to the American markets, which provided job opportunities in many of these US-bound export sectors.

The minister praised role of the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan (AmCham JO) in promoting the agreement, organizing trade missions and networking Jordanian and American private sectors.

The most important Jordanian goods exported to the United States focus on clothing, textiles, medicines and engineering industries, while the Kingdom imports machinery, fuel derivatives, electrical appliances, wheat, and pharmaceuticals.