Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 12 • Number 38 • 12th November 2008

Jordan TPR: Already Strong Performance Could be Bolstered by Further Reforms

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Economic reforms in Jordan have helped the country boost its GDP, dampen inflation and cut its public debt, a WTO review of the country’s trade policies concluded this week.

Jordan’s GDP has grown by an average of 5.9 percent per year since 2000, the year that the Middle Eastern country joined the WTO, the Trade Policy Review, or TPR, found. Since then, Jordan has continued to open its markets, the report said, but the country would still “stand to gain from further dismantling its tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade.”

The Jordanian economy is dominated by the services sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of the country’s GDP. Amman made significant commitments to liberalise the sector during the country’s process of accession to the WTO, but some important restrictions remain, including limits on foreign equity, the report found. The country would also benefit from further opening in critical subsectors such as transportation, construction and distribution.

Among the country’s primary challenges include addressing its 14-percent unemployment rate and low labour productivity. The report also noted that the Jordanian business environment is still held back by high levels of state ownership and restrictions on foreign involvement in the creation of transport infrastructure and the management of utilities.

The report also noted that Jordan is “almost totally dependent” on imports of oil, petroleum, gas and electricity to meet its energy needs, and encouraged the country to continue working to diversify its energy sources.

The WTO secretariat conducts periodic reviews of its Members’ trade policies. This review was Jordan’s first.

To read the full Trade Policy Review, visit http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp306_e.htm

ICTSD reporting.