JORDAN'S EXPORTS THRIVE; U.S. IS NUMBER ONE TRADE

UNCLAS AMMAN 003645 SIPDIS PASS TO USTR - E. SAUMS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON JO SUBJECT: JORDAN'S EXPORTS THRIVE; U.S. IS NUMBER ONE TRADE PARTNER ¶1. Jordan's exports continued to surge ahead in the first quarter of 2004, totaling 615.1 million Jordanian Dinars (JD) or about USD 860 million, according to a Ministry of Finance publication confirmed by the Department of Statistics (DOS). Of the total, about USD 140 million was in re-exports (almost finished goods for which the value added in Jordan was at least 40 percent, typically including consumer goods such as cigarettes and alcohol packaged here). Exports grew 29 percent, compared to the first quarter last year. ¶2. Jordan's exports to the United States totaled USD 208 million in the first quarter, a strong showing pointing to another record-breaking year. These were largely garments (over 90 percent) and jewelry (about 7 percent). Exports to the U.S. accounted for 29 percent of all Jordanian exports, making the U.S. Jordan's number one trading partner. ¶3. First-quarter imports from the U.S. were pegged at USD 123 million according to the DOS, the strongest showing in the last five years, and a quantum leap compared to last year when pre-war jitters were believed to slow imports, to about USD 77 million. Imports from the U.S., which accounted for about 7 percent of all imports into Jordan for the period, included items such as electric/electronic equipment, machinery, aircraft parts, and agricultural products, particularly cereals and fats/oils. ¶4. Jordan posted a trade balance deficit of over USD 700 million in the first quarter, a 36 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Finance. (COMMENT: So far, there has been no indication of official worries about this figure. Nonetheless, since most manufacturing equipment and raw inputs for exports that are brought into the country are not considered "imports", this figure bears watching over the course of the year.) GNEHM