WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG141/5 
20 March 2006 
 
 (06-1233) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – JORDAN EURO-MEDITERRANEAN AGREEMENT 
 
Questions and Replies  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 14 March 2006, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the European Communities.   This document reproduces the questions addressed  to the Parties and the responses submitted. 
The questions and replies set out below are or ganized in accordance with document WT/REG141/3. 
 
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I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENT 
3. Scope 
 1. The United States appreciates the information provided by the Parties concerning 
exports of industrial products from Jorda n to the EC (WT/REG141/4 question 2) and 
concerning products in Annex 4 (WT/REG141/4 question 4). However, the broader question 
asked previously concerning the scope of the agreement remains largely unanswered.  
In the interest of transparency, could the Parties provide: - the value and percentage of trade fully liberalized at each phase;  - the number and percentage of tariff lines fully liberalized at each phase;  
- the number of tariff lines and value of trade subject to TRQs and the schedule 
for liberalization; 
- the percentage of agricultural trade covered by the Agreement;  
- the value of trade represented by the tariff lines in Annexes I and II;  
- the percentage of bilateral trade rep resented by 12 tariff lines in Column D of 
the Annex to Protocol 1, and the reference quantities established by the Community; and  
- the number of tariff lines excluded entirely from the Agreement? 
 
 WT/REG141/5 
Page 2  
 
  Value and percentage of trade to be liberali sed at the end of the transitional period(s) 
(maximum 12 years) and the number of tariff lines and value of trade subject to TRQs.  
 
 Trade coverage 
(percentage 
duty and quota 
free of bilateral 
imports) Tariff line 
coverage 
(percentage duty 
and quota free of 
total schedule) Maximum 
transition periods Special Provisions, 
incl. TRQs, Agri, 
PAPs, fish (coverage 
of lines and trade as 
percentage of total) 
Jordan industrial exports to EU 100% 100%   
Jordan agricultural 
exports to EU (excluding fishery products) 99,4% 99,5% Maximum 6 years 
(the majority to be free immediately) after entry into 
force of revision 0.4% duty free within 
TRQ ( on lines ) 
0.6% duty free within 
TRQ (on trade) 
 
EU industrial 
exports to Jordan 88,7% 95,9% Maximum 12 
years after entry into force of 
Agreement  
EU agricultural 
exports to Jordan (excluding fishery 
products) 92,5% 98,2% 6 years after entry 
into force of revision 0.1% reduced without 
TRQ ( on lines ) 
0.2 % preferential 
reduced duty rates 
without TRQ (on 
trade)  
 
 Please note that the revision of the agricultura l chapter of the Agreement has recently taken 
place and which can be found on in the Official Journal ISSN 1725-2563, L 41, 13 February 2006 . 
These leads to the following revised figures on trade coverage and tariff line coverage. 
 
Liberalisation at each phase for Community originating products  
 
− Goods other than those listed in Annexes II, III an d IV: full abolition as of entry into force of 
AA. 
 
− Goods listed in Annex II (processed agricultural products): tariff dismantling to begin four 
years after entry into force of the Agreement: as of 1st May 2006 
 
− Goods listed in Annex III (industr ial products); tariff dismantli ng should now have reached 40 
percent of basic duty, full dismantling to be completed on 1st May 2006. 
 
− Goods in list B of Annex III (i ndustrial products): tariff dismantli ng to begin four years after 
entry into force of the Agreement: as of 1st May 2006. 
 
− Goods listed in Annex IV (indus trial products), for which a tariff dismantling schedule should 
be established by the Association Council four  years after the entry into force of the 
agreement. 
 
 
   WT/REG141/5 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Value of trade represented by the tariff lines in Annexes I and II  
 
 
EU IMPORTS FROM JORDAN 
Year 2002 2003 2004 
Percentage of trade 
represented by tariff lines 
in Annexes I and II 0,03% 0,03% 0,1%
Value of trade 
represented by tariff lines 
in Annexes I and II 91.350 euro 61.170 euro 264.800 euro
Total EU imports from 
Jordan 304,5 million euro 203,9 million euro 264,8 million euro
 
 
EU EXPORTS TO JORDAN 
Year 2002 2003 2004 
Percentage of trade 
represented by tariff lines 
in Annexes I and II 1,94% 2,48% 2,22%
Value of trade 
represented by tariff lines in Annexes I and II 39,1 million euro 46,5 million euro 43,3 million euro
Total EU imports from 
Jordan 2,017 billion euro 1,875 billion euro 1,949 billion euro
 
 
Percentage of bilateral trade presented by 13 tariff li nes in Column D of the Annex to Protocol 1 for 
which the Community may fix a reference quantity?  
 
 
Year  2002 2003 2004 
Percentage of bilateral 
trade presented by 
13 tariff lines in Column 
D 0,69 % 2,2 % 0,74 %
Value of bilateral trade 
presented by 13 tariff lines in Column D 2,1 million euro 4.,4 million euro 1,97 million euro
Total EU imports from 
Jordan  304,5 million euro 203,9 million euro 264,8 million euro
 
 
The number of tariff lines excluded entirely from the Agreement  
 
103 tariff lines of fishery products at 6-digit level.  
 
   WT/REG141/5 
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  II. TRADE PROVISIONS 
 1. Import Restrictions 
  
 1.1 Duties And Charges 
 
2. In the EC-Chile FTA, the Community created categories (e.g., EP, SP, and PN) on 
which specific duties or denominations were maintained. How are these specific duties and 
denominations treated in the EC-Jordan Agreement? 
 In the light of the annual review of trad e flows, the Community has never established 
reference quantities.  
 
8. Sector-Specific Provisions 
 Agricultural products
 
 3. In response to questions about the agricult ural sector, the Parties explained that “the 
first revision of the agricultural chapter of the Agreement, will be carried out in the course of 2004, with effect from 1 January 2005.” (WTJRE  question 7).  Has this revision occurred and 
implemented? What further liberalization has occurred?  
 Yes. Negotiations have recently been concl uded and the revision has been published in the 
official journal - ISSN 1725-2563, L 41, 13 February 2006 . Negotiations have resulted in full 
liberalisation of agricultural products and PAPs with only a limited number of exceptions (see trade 
figures in first table).   
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