Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
02AMMAN2720
2002-05-28 14:49:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

IRAQ/GRL: PASSAGE OF UNSCR 1409 CAUSES BARELY A

Tags:  ETTC PREL ETRD IZ JO 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002720 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2012
TAGS: ETTC PREL ETRD IZ JO
SUBJECT: IRAQ/GRL: PASSAGE OF UNSCR 1409 CAUSES BARELY A
RIPPLE IN JORDAN; GOJ SEEKS GREATER CLARITY ON "FAST TRACK"
MECHANISM


Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM. REASONS 1.5 (B,D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002720

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2012
TAGS: ETTC PREL ETRD IZ JO
SUBJECT: IRAQ/GRL: PASSAGE OF UNSCR 1409 CAUSES BARELY A
RIPPLE IN JORDAN; GOJ SEEKS GREATER CLARITY ON "FAST TRACK"
MECHANISM


Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM. REASONS 1.5 (B,D).


1. (C) Since UNSCR 1409's passage two weeks ago, there has
been surprisingly little reaction from either the GOJ or
Jordan's business community on the new international rules
governing Iraq trade. Those who follow the issue have
greeted 1409 with caution, unsure whether or not Jordan will
benefit from the new system.


2. (C) For the past year, the GOJ's main concern regarding
revision of Iraq sanctions has been preservation of the
Kingdom's oil-barter arrangement outside of O-F-F. As 1409
does not make mention of extra-O-F-F trade, that concern
appears -- at least for the time being -- to have subsided.
A new area of Jordanian anxiety is more commercial than
political: whether the Kingdom can remain competitive in an
Iraqi market that has easier access to goods from a wider
range of sources. Jordanian business people, for example,
note with worry the reported opening of the Saudi-Iraqi
border to bilateral trade.


3. (C) On May 19, Haidar Murad, President of the Federation
of Jordanian Chambers of Commerce, urged Jordan's industrial
and trade sectors to enhance the competitive edge of the
products destined for Iraq. His statement expressed a worry
felt in various quarters here: that while 1409 will allow
Iraq to increase importation of civilian goods, Jordan will
lose out to others who can win on price and/or quality.
(Prime Minister Abul Ragheb argued again to the Ambassador
May 20 that Jordan must sign a Free Trade Agreement with
Baghdad to maintain its economic competitiveness with other
Arab states that have Iraq FTAs.)


4. (C) Meanwhile, Samer al-Tawil, the number two official at
the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told Econcouns that on
balance the resolution was good for Jordan. Greater
competition in the Iraqi market would, he said, help refocus
Jordanian manufacturers on new markets, upgrading standards
and quality in the process. He contrasted 1409 favorably
with proposals last year for "smart sanctions" that would,
Tawil said, have stationed UN inspectors in Jordan and could
have interfered with Jordan's bilateral trade protocols with
Iraq. He noted, however, that the volume of goods shipped
under the bilateral protocol should decline markedly this
year. He estimated that the value of total goods exported in
2002 will reach USD 150 million, down from USD 227 million in
2001, and well short of the USD 260 million ceiling allowed
in the protocol for 2002.


5. (C) Samer Naber, the MFA's Legal Advisor, told Polcouns
and Poloff May 23 that the GOJ's concerns at present center
more on what 1409 does not specify rather than what it does.
In particular, the GOJ is interested in learning more details
of how the "fast track" mechanism noted in paragraph 4 of SCR
1409's procedures would work. Many of Jordan's current
exports, Naber noted, would probably fall within the
categories of goods governed by these procedures. The GOJ
and Jordanian businesspeople are looking for clarity on this,
as well as a better understanding of how the SYG's periodic
reports could prompt additional revisions.


6. (C) Action request: Any information the Department or USUN
could provide us to pass to the GOJ on the envisioned "fast
track" mechanism would be very helpful.
Gnehm