Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Jordan, Syria sign FTA
By Rana Awwad
AMMAN Jordan and Syria on Monday clinched a free trade agreement (FTA) that will immediately lift all tariffs on `99 per cent' of goods traded between the two countries.The pact is expected to boost the trade exchange by 100 per cent next year as compared to the 2001 level, said Trade and Industry Minister Wasif Azar.
It is also a reflection of the `good relations' between the leaders of both countries, Azar told reporters at the end of a two-day meeting of the Jordanian-Syrian Higher Committee.
Under the FTA, only four items, namely clothes, shoes, chocolate and biscuits, and mineral water will undergo a gradual tariff exemption, which starts at 60 per cent, when the agreement enters into force in early 2002.
Customs duties on those items, however, will reach their zero levels by 2005.
The FTA was part of a host of agreements and trade protocols covering various fields including the promotion of investments, IT, transportation, and taxation, that were sealed during meetings of the Jordanian-Syrian Higher Committee.
Other agreements signed during the meetings, co-chaired by Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb and his Syrian counterpart Mohammad Mustafa Miro, involve cooperation in labour, media, health and environment.
The FTA will replace the 1975 trade convention.
Trade between the neighbouring countries has jumped by 72 per cent during the first seven months of this year to JD39 million as compared to the same period in 2000. The volume of Syrian exports to Jordan was almost double that of Jordanian exports to Syria.
Jordanian-Syrian ties have markedly improved when His Majesty King Abduallah ascended the Throne, and saw further development when Assad succeeded his father in June 2000.
Both leaders, who held talks here on Monday, underscored the need for further bolstering ties in all fields of cooperation.