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Gov’t urged to tackle ‘challenges’ facing industry sector

Industry representatives are scheduled to meet prime minister this week

By Dana Al Emam - Jul 22,2017 - Last updated at Jul 22,2017

AMMAN — Industrialists and economists called on the government to revisit Jordan’s trade agreements and to repeal those which they deem to have been “ineffective” over the past years.

Speaking to The Jordan Times in separate phone interviews on Saturday, representatives of the industrial sector underlined several challenges facing the sector, including energy fees, labour, investment promotion and opening new markets for locally-produced products.

What the sector needs most, however, is an “earnest” willingness among senior officials and decision makers to address “old, yet persisting, challenges”.

Adnan Abul Ragheb, president of the Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), said these challenges have been “burdening” the sector for a long time, adding that the sector needs further cooperation between private and public institutions. 

He added that representatives of the sector are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Hani Mulki this week to discuss how the government can help the private sector address these challenges, noting that an  exact date for the meeting has not yet been set.

In light of the closure of the Kingdom’s borders with Iraq and Syria, formerly   major destination for Jordanian exports, Ragheb highlighted a need to open new markets, including Africa.

He added that further facilitation measures to export to the West Bank should be discussed, adding that the JCI has been seeking to introduce Jordanian industrialists to their European counterparts in order to better understand the EU markets’ needs and better benefit from the simplified rules of origin. 

For his part, Amman Chamber of Industry Vice Chairman, Fathi Jaghbir, argued that Jordan’s bilateral trade agreements with Turkey and Egypt are “not equally beneficial” for both sides, noting that reconsidering trade agreements must not happen in isolation from real efforts to address all challenges.

In addition to the previously mentioned challenges, the sector representative said industrial institutions find “great” difficulties in getting bank loans due to high interest rates and “highly demanding” requirements, noting that most of Jordan’s businesses are small and medium enterprises with limited financial capabilities.

Jaghbir added that stability in legislations and less bureaucracy would help promote the Kingdom as an attractive destination for investments.

He also called for reopening commercial offices at Jordan’s embassies in commercially significant countries in a bid to facilitate cooperation.    

In an article published recently in Al Rai daily, economist Fahed Fanek underlined that the challenges facing the industrial sector are not the outcome of certain governmental decisions or measures, but rather the result of the absence of initiatives and decisions which could support the sector.

Meanwhile, he agreed with Jaghbir that the Kingdom’s free trade agreements with the US and Europe, which exempt imports from customs fees, are actually harming local production and decreasing budget revenues.

These agreements have “deprived” the state budget of revenues valued at millions of dinars each year and have “suffocated” local production, which is tightly bound to protectionism, Fanek argued.

Jaghbir said that the facilitation given to Syrian workers, including a 15 to 25 per cent quota, should be revisited, as unemployment among Jordanians reaches 18 per cent and other guest workers are entailed to pay several fees.

 

“Jordan has a massive opportunity to be the region’s most attractive industrial hub, particularly in the reconstruction of Syria and Iraq,” Jaghbir concluded.

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