First request filed to export to EU under new rules of origin

AMMAN — The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply on Sunday received the first request for exporting local products to Europe under the newly endorsed relaxed rules of origin, a ministry official said.

A company manufacturing cables in Irbid's Al Hassan Industrial Estate was the first to file a request after some two months of signing the agreement, said Yousef Shamali, the ministry's secretary general.

In July, the EU relaxed the ìrules of originî for Jordanian exports to Europe. Under the deal, manufacturers in Jordan can import up to 70 per cent of the raw materials used in production, and still label the finished products as “Made in Jordan”, qualifying them for trade concessions. 

The agreement, which Shamali said entitles Jordan to the "easiest" facilitations for Europe's 28 countries, will go into effect on January 1, 2017 and is valid for 10 years.

Meanwhile, he said at a seminar on Dutch economic support for Jordan hosted by the Amman Chamber of Commerce that the private sector is not fully utilising the agreement yet.

Shamali recognised the Netherlands as a keen supporter for Jordan during negotiations for the agreement.

The official cited a need to further support small and medium-sized enterprises, which comprise over 98 per cent of local businesses, to enable them to benefit from the agreement.