Webinar session on the Jordan & Egypt Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.

The Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) in cooperation with the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES), conducted a webinar session to discuss the United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with Jordan and Egypt, highlighting the lessons learnt, behind the borders issues and areas for improvement economic ties.

The session’s main speakers were Dr. Ibrahim Saif -JSF CEO-(moderator), Dr. Abla Abdulatif -ECES CEO-, and Eng. Mohammed Bataineh – AmCham-Jordan Chairman-.

At the beginning of the session, Dr. Saif highlighted the important trade figures that resulted from the U.S.-Jordan FTA and the gradual progress occurred as a result of the agreement since its entry into force and and the establishment of the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ), stressing that Jordan is the first Arab country to sign FTA with the United States and the fourth in the world.

In his intervention, Eng. Mohammed Bataineh, Chairman of AmCham-Jordan, stated that after 20 years of the Jordan-U.S. FTA, the U.S. is Jordan’s main trading partner absorbing 80% of Jordan’s goods exports to the world. The opportunities provided by the agreement remain under-utilized by the business community especially as related to trade diversification and trade in services. He also shed light on the importance of AmCham-Jordan role towards working to support businesses in overcoming behind the border challenges related to marketing and business linkages.

To read the full press release in AR, click here