Jordan’s Ability to Complete the Third Trade Policy Review at the WTO

Abstract

Jordan has joined the World Trade organization in 1995, with an aim of establishing an economic stability, continuing economic reforms, and improving the investment and business environment in spite of the surrounding conditions in the region and their negative economic and social effects. Commitment to the policy of economic openness and liberalization of the trade system pursued by Jordan since its accession to the WTO goes in line with the government’s efforts to improve the business environment through measures taken in the areas of trade facilitation, customs procedures, and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). This paper aims to identify the Jordanian Trade Policy since 2008 in which it covers several axes, most notably the economic environment, trade and investment laws, analysis of trade policy tools, and performance according to sectors, which were included in the third appendix of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the organization in 1994. By applying a qualitative and doctrinal legal approach, this paper analyses the Jordan’s Ability to Complete the Third Trade Policy Review at the WTO. The finding reveals that Jordan, like other countries in the world, was affected by the economic changes that resulted from the global financial conflicts and crises which began with the global financial crisis, then followed by energy turmoil during the Arab Spring in 2011, Covid-19 epidemic and the very high competition in granting concessions to foreign investors. Finally, Jordan has come a long way in completing the review of the third trade policy in the WTO during the period from 2016 to the year in which the third review was supposed to take place, but Jordan was exposed to some obstacles that led to its decline in completing this review beyond its control and related to the regional and international situation, in particular the regional and international conflicts that resulted successive financial and economic crises. WTO, TPRM, Jordanian trade policy, Investment Environment Law, Governance, Anti-corruption, Index of Economic Freedoms, economic legislations, customs tariff rates, Extension of the Fund Facility