[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 2 (Monday, January 15, 2001)]
[Pages 23-24]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Legislation To Implement 
the Jordan-United States Free Trade Agreement

January 6, 2001

To the Congress of the United States:

    I am pleased to transmit a legislative proposal to implement the 
Agreement between the United States of America and the Hashemite Kingdom 
of Jordan on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area. Also transmitted is 
a section-by-section analysis.
    The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) provides critical support 
for a pivotal regional partner for U.S. efforts in the Middle East peace 
process. Jordan has taken extraordinary steps on behalf of peace and has 
served as a moderating and progressive force in the region. This 
Agreement not only sends a strong and concrete message to Jordanians and 
Jordan's neighbors about the economic benefits of peace, but 
significantly contributes to stability throughout the region. This 
Agreement is the capstone of our economic partnership with Jordan, which 
has also included U.S.-Jordanian cooperation on Jordan's accession to 
the World Trade Organization (WTO), our joint Trade and Investment 
Framework Agreement, and our Bilateral Investment Treaty. This Agreement 
is a vote of confidence in Jordan's economic reform program, which 
should serve as a source of growth and opportunity for Jordanians in the 
coming years.
    The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement achieves the highest possible 
commitments from Jordan on behalf of U.S. business on key trade issues, 
providing significant and extensive liberalization across a wide 
spectrum of trade issues. For example, it will eliminate all tariffs on 
industrial goods and agricultural products within 10 years. The FTA 
covers all agriculture without exception. The Agreement will also 
eliminate commercial barriers to bilateral trade in services originating 
in the United States and Jordan. Specific liberalization has been 
achieved in many key services sectors, including energy distribution, 
convention, printing and publishing, courier, audiovisual, education, 
environmental, financial, health, tourism, and transport services.
    In the area of intellectual property rights, the U.S.-Jordan Free 
Trade Agreement builds on the strong commitments Jordan made in acceding 
to the WTO. The provisions of the FTA incorporate the most up-to-date 
international standards for copyright protection, as well as protection 
for confidential test data for pharmaceuticals and agricultural 
chemicals and stepped-up commitments on enforcement. Among other things, 
Jordan has undertaken to ratify and implement the World Intellectual 
Property Organization's (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances 
and Phonograms Treaty within 2 years.
    The FTA also includes, for the first time ever in the text of a 
trade agreement, a set of substantive provisions on electronic commerce. 
Both countries agreed to seek to avoid imposing customs duties on 
electronic transmissions, imposing unnecessary barriers to market access 
for digitized products, and impeding the ability to deliver services 
through electronic means. These provisions also tie in with commitments 
in the services area that, taken together, aim at encouraging investment 
in new technologies and stimulating the innovative uses of networks to 
deliver products and services.

[[Page 24]]

    The FTA joins free trade and open markets with civic 
responsibilities. In this Agreement, the United States and Jordan affirm 
the importance of not relaxing labor or environmental laws in order to 
increase trade. It is important to note that the FTA does not require 
either country to adopt any new laws in these areas, but rather includes 
commitments that each country enforce its own labor and environmental 
laws.
    The U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement will help advance the long-term 
U.S. objective of fostering greater Middle East regional economic 
integration in support of the establishment of a just, comprehensive, 
and lasting peace, while providing greater market access for U.S. goods, 
services, and investment. I urge the prompt and favorable consideration 
of this legislation.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 January 6, 2001.