Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09AMMAN2597
2009-12-02 14:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

Jordan and Turkey Sign Free Trade Agreement

Tags:  ETRD ECON ECIN EFIN PREL JO 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #2597 3361425
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021425Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6387
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0624
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 6329
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3136
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 4202
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 4286
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 2248
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1956
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 0937
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 5719
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
UNCLAS AMMAN 002597 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ELA AND EEB
STATE PASS USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON ECIN EFIN PREL JO
SUBJECT: Jordan and Turkey Sign Free Trade Agreement

REF: 07 Amman 4678

UNCLAS AMMAN 002597

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ELA AND EEB
STATE PASS USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON ECIN EFIN PREL JO
SUBJECT: Jordan and Turkey Sign Free Trade Agreement

REF: 07 Amman 4678


1. (U) Jordan and Turkey signed a Free Trade Agreement on December 1
during a visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Amman. The
agreement is set to establish a free trade zone, cut duties on
imports, scrap visa requirements, and increase customs cooperation
to help boost two-way trade, tourism and investment between the two
countries. Jordan-Turkey FTA talks have been on-going since 2002.
The FTA will establish a free trade zone by 2011 and would fully
eliminate customs fees by 2021.


2. (U) From January to August 2009, the value of Jordan's imports
from Turkey reached $261.9 million with exports to Turkey reaching
$21.4 million. In 2008, Jordan's imports from Turkey were valued at
$456.8 million while exports stood at $28.3 million. Turkish
investments in Jordan are estimated to total $90 million.


3. (U) Jordan has signed bi-lateral free trade agreements with
multiple Arab states, the U.S., Canada, and Singapore. Jordan has
multilateral free trade agreements with the European Free Trade
Association, is a member of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area and is
a signatory of the Agadir Agreement linking Jordan with Egypt,
Morocco and Tunisia. Jordan and Turkey are both parties to
Euro-Mediterranean trade agreements, which would eventually enable
Jordan to use Turkish raw materials to export to the EU market.


4. (SBU) Comment: The Jordan-Turkey FTA is another important
example of Jordan's trade strategy that aims to diversify its
trading partners and seeks greater regional trade links, including
with Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The text of the FTA is not yet
available, pending cabinet approval. It therefore remains unclear
what the full impact of this new FTA will be on Jordan's sensitive
agricultural, food processing, and textile sectors that will almost
certainly be heavily impacted by the competition from Turkey's
equivalent sectors, and whether the agreement includes interim
protection measures for these sectors in Jordan. End comment.

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Mandel