FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30,2008
U.S.-Jordan Joint Committee Discuss FTA with
U.S. Companies
WASHINGTON, DC- In partnership with
the Jordan-US Business Alliance and the
Business Council for International
Understanding, the Jordan Economic and
Commerce Bureau co-hosted a roundtable
discussion on Wednesday with Jordanian and
American officials responsible for managing
the U.S.-Jordan economic relationship under
the Free Trade Agreement.
The discussion, which took place under the
framework of the fourth annual US-Jordan
Joint Committee Meetings on the FTA,
included a number of American companies
exploring business opportunities in Jordan.
The joint US-Jordan committee includes the
Secretary Generals of Jordan’s Minstry of
Industry and Trade and the Ministry of
Labor, Dr. Montaser Oklah and Dr. Gazi
Shbekat, respectively as well as the
Director General of the Jordan Institute for
Standards and Metrology, Dr. Yassen Khayyat.
On the American side, the committee included
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative
for Europe and the Middle East, Mr. Mark
Mowery, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative
for Labor, Mr. Lewis Karesh and Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Near Eastern Affairs,
Ambassador David Hale.
Jordanian and American trade officials
highlighted the positive experience of both
countries under the Free Trade Agreement;
the first of its kind with an Arab country.
Dr. Oklah noted that the trade figures speak
for the success of the Jordan-US FTA; as the
United States stands to be Jordan’s largest
trading partner with Jordanian exports
reaching over 1.2 billion USD.
For his part, Ambassador Hale underscored
the importance of the FTA as a “key pillar”
of the US-Jordan partnership which has grown
“stronger” during the near sixty years since
the establishment of U.S.-Jordan diplomatic
relations in January 1949.
Moreover, given the centrality of labor
provisions in the Jordan-US FTA and in light
of the steps undertaken by the Government of
Jordan to strengthen labor administration,
the discussion included presentations by Dr.
Shbekat and Mr. Karesh. Dr. Shbekat outlined
the three pronged action plan lead by the
Ministry of Labor to address challenges in
labor administration; improving working
conditions through enforcement and
compliance, enhancing institutional capacity
and increasing employment opportunities for
Jordanians. “We are certainly on the right
track and we recognize that the job is not
yet done. Working conditions have improved
on the ground and we hope to continue to
strengthen all the mechanisms in place to
better address and perhaps even avert future
problems,” said Shbekat.
Mr. Karesh also recognized Jordan’s efforts
to address labor conditions in the country
in the wake of the publication of the
National Labor Committee report in 2005.
“Jordan stands to be a model” for its swift
reaction and concrete actions taken to
“investigate the NLC’s allegations” and to
invest in strengthening the government’s
means to improve labor conditions.
Jordan’s labor laws are in line with
international labor standards. Jordan has
also harmonized all its national standards
with international ones and since 2000 it
has accepted the Code of Good Practice for
the Preparation and Application of
international standards wherever they exist.
