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On October 24, 2000, the United States and the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan signed the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and
the agreement entered force on December 17, 2001. The U.S.-Jordan FTA is the
United States' third free trade agreement, following the U.S.-Israel Free Trade
Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico and
it’s the United States’ first agreement with an Arab country. The U.S.-Jordan FTA demonstrates the United
States’ support of “Jordan’s domestic economic reforms, encourage efforts
by other Middle East countries to open their economies and to enhance regional
stability.”**
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The FTA achieves significant and extensive liberalization across
a wide spectrum of trade issues. The major provisions addressed in the FTA
include:
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Tariffs: The FTA eliminates duties and
commercial barriers to bilateral trade in goods and services originating in the
United States and Jordan.
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Intellectual Property
Rights: The FTA includes the most up-to-date international standards for
copyright, patent, and trademark-related commitments.
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Electronic Commerce: The FTA
promotes a liberalized trade environment for electronic commerce (e-commerce).
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Trade-Related Environment: The FTA includes provisions to implement environmental
protection laws.
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Labor Provisions: The FTA includes
provisions to protect the worker’s rights.
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Services: The FTA provides a liberalization in
certain sectors of trade.
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Consultation and Dispute Settlements: The FTA provides for a dispute settlement panel who will
issue legal interpretations of the FTA after consultation of both countries.
Rules
of Origin
are specifically applied to the FTA in order to determine from what country a product is
imported, especially when two or more countries contribute to the production of the product. Production of the product includes material as well as
labor. The rules of origin are designed to ensure that the benefits of the agreement specifically benefit Jordan and the United States and to prevent
third country producers from passing their goods through the United States or Jordan to obtain the duty-free benefits of the FTA.
Since the United States already has a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
with Jordan, the FTA does not include an investment chapter.
**US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement-Paul Thanoes, Export America, Nov. 2001
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