WT/REG453/2  
 
14 June 2022 
(22-4635) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English  
 
ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND JORDAN, GOODS  
QUESTIONS AND REPLIES  
 The following communication, dated 8 June 2022, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of  the United Kingdom and Jordan . 
 
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Question s from Canada  
 
1.1.  Paragraph 3.65 states, "the incorporated Article 34 governs temporary entry and 
stay of natural persons for business purposes employed in subsidiaries and/or branches 
of companies established in the other Party."  
Article 34.1 of the EU -Jordan FTA provides: "A Community company or Jordanian company 
established in the territory of Jordan or the Community respectively shall be entitled to 
employ, or have employed by one of its subsidiaries or branches, in accordance w ith the 
legislation in force in the host country of establishment, in the territory of Jordan and the 
Community respectively, employees who are nationals of Community Member States and 
Jordan respectively, provided that such employees are key personnel as defined in 
paragraph 2, and that they are employed exclusively by such companies, subsidiaries or 
branches. The residence and work permits of such employees shall only cover the period 
of such employment"  
 
a. Can Parties please identify the referenced legisla tion, for each of their respective 
country, that governs the temporary entry of the covered key personnel defined 
in Article 34.2?  
b. Please clarify whether the Parties retain the right to impose economic needs test 
or numerical restrictions on covered key pe rsonnel, should they desire to do so, 
in accordance with their respective legislation.  
c. Please clarify whether the maximum durations of stay for covered key personnel 
are regulated by each Parties ' governing legislation. In the alternative, is the 
duration of the "period of employment" the only limitation on durations of stay 
for each Party?  
Response from the United Kingdom  
 
 Rules regarding "key personnel " can be found - Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global 
Business Mobility): Overview - GOV.UK ( www.gov.uk ). 
 
 The agreement is silent on economic needs tests and numerical restrictions, therefore it does 
not restrict the right of either Party to use such measures in accordance with its domestic legislation.  
 
 We consider that each Party's domestic rules concerning the duration of residence and work 
permits for "key personnel " of the other Party continue to apply. Such domestic rules would prevail WT/REG453/2  
 
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  in case they allow for a shorter period of stay compared to the period of emp loyment of the person 
concerned.  
 
Response from Jordan  
 
 The legal framework is mainly comprised of the Jordanian Labor Law of the year 1996 and its 
amendments, Companies Law No. 22 of 1997 and its amendments, and Investment Law No. 30 of 
2014. And the requirements in this regard based on the situation and shoul d be stud ied case by 
case. 
 
1.2.  Paragraph 4.22: The Report states that Article 58 of the Agreement provides that 
"the Parties agree to a gradual liberalization of public procurement markets" and that 
"the Association Council is mandated to hold consultations o n the implementation of this 
objective."  
 Has the Association Council met to discuss the gradual liberalization of procurement 
markets? If so, could the parties please provide an update on this issue?  
 
Response from the United Kingdom  
 
 The Association Co uncil had their first meeting on 26 April, in which procurement was not 
discussed. We will raise this at subsequent joint -committee meetings and keep you updated on 
progress.  
 
Response from Jordan  
 
 The discussions on mutual opening of their respective government procurement market have 
not started yet.  
 
Question from Japan  
 
General provisions of the agreement  
 
Investment  
 
1.3.  Paragraphs 4.45: The report states that both countries will cooperate in developing 
a "legal environment conducive to investment between the two Parties, through the 
conclusion of investment protection agreements". Meanwhile, as noted in the FN, the UK 
and Jordan already have an effective BIT with investment protection provisions which has 
been in force since  1979. Does the "conclusion of investment protection agreements" 
mean the modernization/updating of this agreement, or do the UK and Jordan intend to 
commence negotiations on a totally new investment agreement? Furthermore, what will 
be the issue of intere st of the two countries when negotiating such treaties?  
Response from the United Kingdom  
 
 This text was included as part of the replication exercise for the transitioned EU agreement. 
As noted, there is an existing UK -Jordan bilateral investment treaty wh ich was concluded in 1979 
and entered into force in 1980. There are currently no plans to renegotiate this agreement.  
 
Response from Jordan  
 
 Investment protection agreements between two parties are still effective.  
 
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