Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04AMMAN9149
2004-11-11 14:39:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

NEW INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER ON FTA JC

Tags:  ETRD KIPR EAGR KTIA PREL PINR JO 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009149 

SIPDIS

4110/ITA/MAC/OAC/TCC/NWIEGLER
CAIRO FOR AGRCOUN CHAUDHRY
DEPT FOR NEA/LEA
DEPT PASS TO USTR - C. NOVELLI AND N. SAUMS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2014
TAGS: ETRD KIPR EAGR KTIA PREL PINR JO
SUBJECT: NEW INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER ON FTA JC
FOLLOW-UP, DAMAN, IPR

Classified By: CDA DAVID HALE. REASONS 1.4 (B, D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009149

SIPDIS

4110/ITA/MAC/OAC/TCC/NWIEGLER
CAIRO FOR AGRCOUN CHAUDHRY
DEPT FOR NEA/LEA
DEPT PASS TO USTR - C. NOVELLI AND N. SAUMS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2014
TAGS: ETRD KIPR EAGR KTIA PREL PINR JO
SUBJECT: NEW INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER ON FTA JC
FOLLOW-UP, DAMAN, IPR

Classified By: CDA DAVID HALE. REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: New Minister of Industry and Trade (MOIT)
Ahmed Hindawi discussed with Charge follow-up on the Free
Trade Agreement Joint Committee and other trade issues.
Hindawi noted "very close" relations with the United States,
acknowledged that some obstacles to trade might exist, but
offered to try to solve outstanding problems. Embassy
believes Hindawi should make for a cooperative counterpart on
trade. END SUMMARY.

Hindawi: Continue Forging Strong Trade Alliance
-------------- --


2. (C) Charge emphasized the successes of the trade
relationship and offered the USG,s support and encouragement
to continue with the efforts related to meeting commitments
under the WTO, the Free Trade Agreement, and QIZ arrangement.
Hindawi was an exuberant advocate of continuing strong and
"very close" relations with the United States across all
aspects of his portfolio. He acknowledged that obstacles to
smooth trade might still exist, but offered that he would
build on a transparent and consultative relationship to
resolve any outstanding issues. Hindawi expressed gratitude
for the trade development assistance given to the Ministry
through USAID,s AMIR (Achievement of Market Friendly
Initiatives and Results) and JUSBP (Jordan-U.S. Business
Partnership) programs, which have provided extensive
technical assistance to the ministry. (NOTE: Hindawi was
present at the creation of these programs, as chief of the
MOIT,s Industrial Development Department which spearheaded
them.)


3. (C) His next challenge was to develop a strategy of
sustainability to the initiatives that came out of the USAID
programs, he said. Two immediate goals were to start up the
proposed Jordan Authority for Enterprise Development (JAED)
and keep the steady pace of legal reforms. Jordan needed to
develop the small and medium enterprises (which he defined as

less than 20 employees) that account for 90 percent of the
nation,s economic output, he noted.

Tackling Trade Issues; Hindawi Raises DAMAN
--------------


4. (C) Charge left with Hindawi a checklist of outstanding
action items remaining from the June FTA Joint Committee
meeting (post will fax a copy of the checklist to NEA/ELA).
Hindawi noted immediately that the issue of food package
labeling should be resolved by the end of the year, with
Jordan having clear regulations on requirements for label
"Sell By" dates. Hindawi raised on his own the issue of the
DAMAN conformity program and related pre-shipment inspection
regime, volunteering that Jordan would try to make "necessary
amendments" to the program. If the currently commissioned
USAID study recommends changes, then the GOJ would adapt, he
said, noting that the program might be streamlined.

IPR Issues
--------------


5. (C) Charge summarized developments to date on copyright
law amendments (NOTE: that would bring the law more closely
into compliance with the FTA) now before Jordan,s
parliament, noting that half the law still needed to go
through a final reading and presentation by the government.
Hindawi said that he was unfamiliar with the issue but would
get a full briefing from his staff and would be prepared to
defend the amendments in parliament to see through their
passage.


6. (C) Charge raised censorship fees, saying the
exponential increases in such fees for video and audio works
was creating a new market for bootleggers. (NOTE: The
distributor of the "Troy" DVD told us separately that he
recently paid 890 Jordanian dinars (USD 1250) for censorship
fees on the import of twelve hundred copies, versus the old
fee of 67 JD (USD 95),and complained
bitterly that outgoing Trade Minister Halaiqa had done
nothing to solve the issue. END NOTE.) Hindawi said that he
was fully committed to intellectual property issues and would
follow up with the appropriate authorities.

Commitment to Market-Oriented Economic Development
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Turning to his broader vision for the ministry,
Hindawi said that he was committed to ongoing political and
economic reforms in Jordan. Under the last cabinet it became
apparent that government reform could not be realigned
without a strong engine, thus explaining the appointment of
Marwan Muasher to a new ministry to handle public
re-structuring. The bureaucracy and lack of streamlining was
a drag on economic development, he said, and required an
effective, efficient government. These goals must be met and
he would work diligently to meet them, Hindawi concluded.

Comment:
--------------


8. (C) Hindawi is an enthusiastic advocate of the mission
in front of him. We can expect him to promote free trade
under his new portfolio and to moderate his enthusiasm for
the DAMAN program developed by the agency he formerly headed,
the Jordan Institute for Standards and Metrology (JISM),and
to try to find a solution to the DAMAN pre-shipment
inspections affecting U.S. exports to Jordan. In that
respect, we are heartened by Hindawi,s volunteering to amend
DAMAN regulations and adapt the program. We encourage
Washington to consider maximizing our response to his earlier
offer to change the program, and to make every argument to
transform the "new" DAMAN into more of a post-import market
surveillance scheme. Hindawi should now also be more
amenable to standards conformity enforcement involving
agencies other than JISM - such as Jordanian Customs, a
development we would welcome, inasmuch as Customs is
developing a strong risk-based vetting system.


9. (C) By accounts from former staffers and foreign
consultants, Hindawi is an innovator and a strong leader, who
delegates tasks, develops his staff, and rewards successful
initiative. JISM was awarded the King Abdullah Award for
Excellence as the best government agency under his
leadership. (Then again, he helped devise the award scheme.)
As DAMAN illustrates, Hindawi can at times succeed almost to
a fault in narrowly pursuing an objective. To the extent
that we can persuade him that we share the same objectives,
we can be assured of a high level of cooperation. That is
not to underestimate the challenges before him, including
fending off influential industrialists who are apt to seek
protection under old-school formulas.
HALE