Israel agrees to increased Jordanian exports to Palestinian areas
Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli trade meetings started on Wednesday in Amman with the participation of the US to discuss trade relations between Jordan, the Palestinian government and Israel.
Informed sources in the Jordanian Ministry of Trade and Industry announced today that Israel agreed to add 1,200 Jordanian classified goods within the framework of 65 Jordanian products to the lists of Jordanian goods that can be exported to the Palestinian-controlled regions. Jordanian exports to the Palestinian areas do not exceed US $15 million per year, while Jordanian officials are keen to increase exports to US $500,000 per week in order to compensate their loss of the Iraqi market.
Israeli exports to the Palestinian areas per year are estimated at US $2.5 billion. It, therefore, obstructs the development of the Palestinian - Jordanian trade relations but claims that central forces in the Palestinian government do not want trade partnership with Amman. The three sides will discuss the Jordanian complaints in this regard.
Official sources at the Jordanian ministry of trade and industry said on Wednesday that the Jordanian side will ask during the Amman meeting the US to approve the expansion of industrial areas qualified in Irbid (in the north of the country) and opening of new industrial areas in al-Mafraq and the border crossings in order to benefit from the customs facilities provided for Jordanian - Israeli products to the US market.
Nevertheless, despite the efforts made by Jordanian officials to increase the country's exports to the Palestinian territories or to the US, a report issued on Monday by the Jordanian Ministry of Trade and Industry said that Jordanian exports during the first 8 months of this year decreased by 4.5% in comparison to the figure for the same period of the last year, when the exports were estimated at US $1 billion.
The report added that Jordan's imports also decreased by 8.3% while the trade balance recorded decrease of 4.2%. The report continued that Jordanian imports for the same period were estimated at US $2.6 billion, a matter which made the trade balance deficit almost US $1.6 billion, a result which constitute a heavy burden on the economy especially in the sectors of industry, transport and services, which witnessed a tangible recession since imposing the UN sanctions on Iraq in 1990.
The Jordanian recession has especially deteriorated since the setback in Jordanian - Iraqi relations in the summer of 1995, when Jordan received the Iraqi high ranking military defector Hussein Kamel.
Next week the Jordanian government will submit the state's general budget draft to the Parliament for discussion. Governmental sources estimated this budget at US $3 billion. The budget deficit in Jordan is not known yet.