Easing EU rules of origin ‘biggest achievement’ of London conference

AMMAN – Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Wednesday said that easing the rules of origin on Jordanian products bound for the EU would generate investments and increase the Kingdom's exports to the markets of the 28 member states of the union. 

At a meeting with chief editors of daily newspapers and columnists to speak about the outcome of the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference, held in London last week, the premier described an upcoming deal with the EU to reconsider the rules of origin as the “biggest achievement of the conference”, which saw pledges of economic and financial assistance worth billions made to the Kingdom. 

“Jordan has been trying to enter the European market for years with quality goods, but it is still hard to make it due to strict conditions imposed by them,” he said. 

Ensour explained that in order to allow products made in Jordan to enter their markets, Europeans require that local contribution to the end product be at least 65 per cent, while Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners like the the US and Canada require only 35 per cent of Jordan’s contribution to the make-up of manufactured products. 

He said that imports from the EU total around JD3.25 billion a year, while Jordanian exports do not exceed JD250 million. 

According to the European Commission data, the EU’s Association Agreement with Jordan, signed in November 1997, entered into force on May 1, 2002. The Association Agreement progressively establishes a Free Trade Area between the EU and Jordan over 12 years. 

In addition, an agreement on further liberalisation of agricultural products entered into force in 2007. A protocol on dispute settlement mechanisms for trade between the EU and Jordan initialed in December 2009 entered into force on 1 July 2011.

Regardless of these deals, the prime minister noted that Jordan has not benefited from its trade transactions with the EU, unlike the Kingdom’s free trade agreement with the US, which, he said, has boosted exports to the US from $100 million a year to around $2 billion. 

Simplifying rules of origin will bring investors to the Kingdom’s development zones and would create thousands of jobs, he said. 

The government said the EU has agreed during the London conference to reconsider and simplify rules of origin on Jordanian exports for the next 10 years.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said the government would immediately embark on a plan in a bid to reach an agreement with the EU by summer.