Jordan Times
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Jordanian firm capitalizes on
FTA agreement to export TVs to US
By Rami Abdelrahman
AMMAN — A Jordanian company will start exporting locally-made Haier television
sets to the United States, capitalising on the preferential treatment the
Kingdom shares with the US under the Free Trade Area (FTA) agreement.
Haier Middle East Appliances Company (HMEAC), is
currently in the final stages of negotiations with US buyers to buy “Made in
Jordan” 150,000 TV sets in a deal that amounts to $30 million.
According to Chairman Moiz Imam, this wholesale deal is only the first of its
kind in terms of exporting TV sets to the US, noting that “HMEAC has the
capacity to produce and export larger quantities to the US and to other
countries across the globe.”
“Since our factory's establishment last year, we have been exporting electrical
and home appliances to Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan and Libya, as
well as selling in the local market,” Imam indicated.
“Currently we are heading towards increasing our exports to Africa,” he pointed
out.
Seventy-two per cent of the company's capital is owned by Jordanian investors,
while 28 per cent is owned by Chinese investors. The FTA entitles the company,
partnering with Haier group in China, to export to the US free of duties.
Imam dismissed news published by Agence France-Presse indicating that the
company will be exporting to the US under the Qualifying Industrial Zone
agreement, stressing :”We are not a QIZ company.”
He clarified that the company will be exporting through FTA, which unlike the
QIZ, does not require eight per cent of Israeli content.
He also dismissed that the reason behind Haier's exporting to the US through
Jordan is to avoid US anti-dumping duties, explaining that Haier Jordan plans to
export to most parts of the world making use of Jordan's many preferential trade
agreements with industrial giants.
Since 1997's signing of the QIZ agreement, and later with 2000's reinforcing FTA
agreement, Jordan has witnessed large foreign direct investments from
international companies, especially Asian, which helped the country increase its
exports from $18 million in 1996 to $650 in 2003.