Jordan Times
Saturday, May 15, 2004

Jordan described as model US trade partner among emerging countries in the world
'His Majesty King Abdullah's vision and leadership is taking Jordanian businesses to an advanced world level'

By Rami Abdelrahman

AMMAN, May 15 - With Jordanian-United States business relations at an unprecedented high level, the Kingdom has become a model US trade partner among emerging countries in the world, a senior US trade official said.

In an interview with The Jordan Times, International Executive Service Corps (IESC) President and CEO Spencer King said the professionalism of Jordanian businessmen in handling trade talks with US companies carries a competitive advantage that most emerging countries lack.

“His Majesty King Abdullah's vision and leadership is taking Jordanian businesses to an advanced international level,” Spencer King added, describing King Abdullah's speeches in world economic meetings as an “inspiration” for both Jordanians and others to work hard in achieving peace and economic prosperity.

The IESC is managing the Jordan-United States Business Partnership (JUSBP) —  an economic development program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), providing financial and technical assistance to Jordanian small- and medium-sized enterprises to pursue growth opportunities.

The JUSBP, a major partner with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, helped boost Jordanian exports to the US to $230 million in the first three months of 2004, making use of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Jordan has with the US .

David Holt, CEO of JUSBP, said the country did not realize the full business advantage of the FTA yet, but still Jordan is doing “exceptionally good” in reaping the benefits of the FTA despite some remaining trade restrictions that he hoped would be relinquished in the future.

He said Jordanian products including garments, foods, jewellery, personal care and marble have significant potential in the US market and are preferred relatively by US importers.

Since its inception, JUSBP has been working hand-in-hand with hundreds of clients in each of those sections in establishing Business Support Organizations (BSO) for each sector, and in branding such products in the US as “Jordanian Products.”

Vice President Nayef Stetieh explained that JUSBP works under the umbrella of several initiatives for improving the capability of the private sector companies to increase their competitiveness in the global economy, and specifically in the US market.

“This involves direct support for improvements in management, marketing, technology, production methods, quality assurance, financial management and human resources, among other priorities,” indicated Stetieh.

The initiatives introduced by JUSBP include MAHARAT Initiative — training and Employing Fresh Graduates, Increasing Competitiveness of the Women Sector Initiative, Faculty to Factory Initiative (which established recently two branches in the north and south), and a Human Resources and Information Technology Initiative.

In addition, it is also providing the Jordanian workforce with several programs such as the Certified Management Program — a world renowned program for executive development and the Export Fast Track Activity Program — addressing export priorities of the US-Jordan FTA. JUSBP is also a partner in the King Abdullah Award for Excellence.

He indicated that JUSBP is helping companies improve their product packaging and design, and establish contacts with US buyers.

“Jordanian companies can be good technically, but still they need to improve their management approaches if they are considering penetrating a huge and diverse market with a high purchasing power such as the US market,” explained the vice president, also the director of BSO, SME and BSO assistance.

Trade and Export Development Director Maha Shawareb told The Jordan Times that JUSBP is going to focus on the furniture, Dead Sea products, jewellery and olive oil in the near future to enable local producers to realize a significant export potential. She said the scheme includes establishing BSOs for some of these sectors.

The other main BSOs established by JUSBP include INTAJ for the ICT sector, JGATE for the garments, textile and accessories sectors, JoStone for the dimension stone and marble sector, JIPA for intellectual property and others.

USAID Jordan Mission Director Anne Aarnes recently commended the performance of JUSBP clients during a tour to view JUSBP client factories last month.

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Bassem Awadallah told The Jordan Times the USAID has been a key partner in pushing the Jordanian economy forward.

“During last year, the USAID grants to Jordan included a $250 million economic grant, $206 million military grant and $100 million additional grant,” Awadallah said, expecting the USAID to increase its grants to the Kingdom to more than $466 million this current fiscal year.

A duty free Trade Area Agreement with the US was put into effect in 2001, leading to customs reductions on Jordanian exports to the US . Also, about 4,300 items have duty access into the US under the Generalized System of Preference.

Jordan is also the 136th member of the World Trade Organization, and benefits from its agreement with Israel (Qualified Industrial Zones) which allows locally-made products duty free access to the US market.  

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