   
  
WT/REG453/M/1  
 
26 July 2022 
(22-5651) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and Third  Session    
 
ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN  THE UNITED KINGDOM  
AND JORDAN  (GOODS)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF  27-28 JUNE  2022 
Chairm an: Ambassador H.E. Mr. Taeho LEE (Republic of Korea ) 
1.1.  The 102nd Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/ 28/Rev.1  dated 1 7 June 2022.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item F.V of the Session, the CRTA considered the Association  Agreement 
between the United Kingdom and Jordan , goods (hereinafter "the Agreement"). The Chairman  stated 
that the Factual Presentation had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility in full 
consultation with the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the  Transparency Mechanism for 
Regional Trade Agreements (document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Chairman  indicated that the Agreement had entered into force on 1 May 2021. It had been 
notified to the WTO by the Parties on 26 March 2021 under Article  XXIV:7(a) of the GATT  1994 as 
establishing a free trade area for trade in goods (document  WT/REG453/N/1 ). The text of the 
Agreemen t, together with its Annexes, was available on the Parties' official websites and in the 
WTO RTA database. The Factual Presentation, document  WT/REG453/1, and questions and replies, 
document WT/REG453/2, had been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of the United Kingdom  (UK) stated that the  Agreement had entered into 
force on 1 May 2021. The Agreement had transition ed, as far as possible, the effects of the EU -Jordan 
Association Agreement as well as the EU -Jordan Dispute Settlement Mechanism Protocol . Jordan 
was an important strategic partner for the UK with bilateral trade reaching GBP 653 million by the 
end of the fourth  quarter of 2021, an increase of GBP 23 million from the previous year.  The 
UK’s strong,  historic  ties with Jordan  were vital to UK prosperity  and security.  The UK share d with 
Jordan the goal of working together and upholding the rules that enable international cooperation.  
This had been  underlined in the recent, inaugural UK -Jordan Association Council meeting which has 
been held in Ap ril 2022. The UK look ed forward to continuing to work closely with Jordan on further 
joint committee meetings to capitalise on the benefits of the Agreement.  
1.5.  The provisions of the EU -Jordan Agreement had been  applied mutatis mutandis , with the 
technical ch anges necessary to apply the agreement to the bilateral UK -Jordan context.  The 
Agreement therefore allowed companies to continue enjoying the same EU -Jordan Agreement 
benefits when trading between  the two Parties . That include d tariff elimination in goods trade, rights 
of establishment and a range of commitments aimed towards achieving closer cooperation on a 
range of social and cultural areas.  Since the entry into force of the Agreement, all agricultural 
products originating in Jordan c ould enter the UK duty -free and quota -free, except for products 
subject to TRQ commitments.  To ensure continuity for traders, the Rules of Origin Protocol in the 
Agreement largely replicate d the outcomes of the EU -Jordan Agreement and was complemented by 
a joint declaration concerning a trilateral approach to rules of origin . The UK thank ed the 
WTO Secretariat for the work in pre paring the Factual Presentation and for the interest and 
engage ment of Members in the process.  
1.6.  The representative of Jordan  thank ed the UK for its detailed and comprehensive presentation 
of the Agreement , and the Committee for the opportunity to present th e important elements of the WT/REG453/M/1  
 
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  Agreement for review by WTO Members. He also thanked  the WTO Secretariat team for their efforts 
in coordinating and preparing the Factual Presentation , and the delegations of Canada and Japan for 
showing interest in the Agreemen t by asking written questions in advance.  The Factual Presentation 
had already provided detailed and valuable information about the Agreement . It highlight ed the solid 
UK and Jordan trade policy towards global trade openness and economic growth, which had been  
translated in the active and continuous engagement in negotiations within the WTO framework, as 
well as in regional, international or plurilateral arenas.   
1.7.  The Agreement , which   had liberalized trade in industrial products  and agricultural products , 
had been  signed in November 2019 and had entered into force in May 2021 . It preserve d most of 
the links between the Parties under the 1997 Euro -Mediterranean Agreement establis hing an 
Association between the EU and Jordan.  The comprehensively scoped Agreement complied with 
Article  XXIV of the GATT.  The Agreement provided for the elimination of customs duties between 
the Parties , and the share of duty -free lines applicable to imp orts from the UK immediately at the 
entry into force of the Agreement was 97.1% , corresponding to 98.9% of total imports from the UK 
during the period 2018 -2020.   
1.8.  Jordan appreciate d its longstanding relations with the UK, which was a testimonial for th at in 
all fields of cooperation , including excellent economic and trade relations.  This deeply rooted  relation 
had witnessed many milestones, most importantly th e Agreement , which allow ed for smooth flow of 
trade. It was Jordan's belief that much potential was still ahead , whether at the bilateral or 
multilateral levels.  Finally,  he stress ed that the Agreement compl emented Jordan's  policies, which 
had been  based on economic openness, globalization and integration within the world economy.  
1.9.  The representative of the United States  thank ed UK and Jordan  for their presentation and 
providing transparency on th at very important Agreement.  
1.10.  The representative of the European Union  welcomed the Agreement and thanked the UK and 
Jordan for the transparency provided.  
1.11.  The representative of Japan  welcomed the Agreement and appreciated the Parties  for their 
presentation s and the replies to the questions from Japan.  
1.12.  The representative of Canada thanked the UK and Jordan for the transparency displayed in 
this exercise.  
1.13.  The Chairman  noted the consideration of the Association Agreement between the 
United  Kingdom and Jordan had allowed the Committee to clarify a number of questions and 
conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency 
Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up questions were invited to forward submissions 
in writing to the Secretariat by 4 July 2022 and the Parties were asked to subm it replies in writing 
by no later than 18 July 2022. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism all 
written submissions, as well as the minutes of the meeting would be circulated promptly, in all 
WTO official languages, and made availabl e on the WTO website.  
1.14.  The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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