Xifres de comerç exterior de Jordània

Foreign Trade in Figures

Jordan is very open to international trade, so much so that there is a dependence on foreign capital; however, its relative share of GDP has diminished considerably after 2014 and was standing in 2020 at 65.4% (World Bank, 2022). Exports are spearheaded by the textile industry, followed by the chemical and mining sectors (fertiliser, medicine, potash and phosphate). Jordan mainly imports machinery and transport equipment, gas, crude and petroleum products, food, manufactured chemicals and electrical machines.

The United States was by far the main destination for Jordanian exports (25%), followed by Saudi Arabia and India (12% respectively), Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. China (16%) and Saudi Arabia (13%) were the main supplier of goods in Jordan remaining ahead of the United States (8.6%), Germany (4.5%) and the UEA (3.8%). Jordan is a member of the WTO and signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S in December 2001, allowing the removal of customs duties on the majority of goods and services since 2010 when it was fully implemented. Jordan has also signed an Agreement of Association with the EU. In 2016, the EU announced that it would facilitate the entry of Jordanian exports in order to support the economy and integration of Syrian refugees. Jordan cancelled its free-trade agreement with Turkey at the end of 2018, citing its feasibility and negative impact on local manufacturing. This agreement was replaced by another free-trade deal at the end of 2019. In addition to the United States, Jordan is also party to bilateral trade agreements with Canada and Singapore and is a signatory to several regional trade agreements including the European Free Trade Association (Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein), Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA), and Aghadir Agreement (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia) which is connected to the Association Agreement (EU).

Jordan's trade balance is structurally in deficit, mainly because of the country's reliance on hydrocarbon imports. The exports of goods amounts to USD 7.7 billion and the imports of goods to USD 19.5 billion in 2021. The Kingdom's trade deficit increased during the first 11 months of 2021 by 29.2 per cent to reach JD7.824 billion (11.03 billion USD), compared with the same period in 2020, where it stood at JD6.056 billion or 8.54 billion USD (Jordanian Department of Statistics, January 2022). The volume of total exports in the January-November period of 2021 increased by 18.3 per cent to JD5.997 billion (8.45 billion USD), compared with the same period of 2020. The percentage of total export coverage for imports in the first 11 months of 2021 stood at 43.4 per cent compared with 45.6 per cent in the same period of 2020, marking a drop of 2.2 per cent. (Jordanian Department of Statistics & Jordan Times, January 2022).