Jordanian Government Will Raise Import Tariffs On Clothing

The Jordanian government is planning to increase the import tariff of ready-made clothes to 15%, thus replacing the current tariff system of 5% or 1 dinar per kilogram.

The research report on the current situation of the garment and textile industry to be issued by the Jordanian Garment and Textile Exporters' Chamber of Commerce pointed out that under the condition of relatively low tariffs clothing And textile products are less competitive than imported products.

The Jordanian government has recently revised the computerized system of clothing import tariffs. The revised tariff calculation will be determined according to the weight of imported goods, and will be charged at the higher tariff of 1 dinar per kilogram of clothing or 5% of the total value of goods.

The research report points out that the export of clothing industry accounts for 14% of Jordan's total export trade, and the total export trade in a few years has exceeded 1 billion dollars. In addition, the added value of this industry has also reached 36.9%. Jordan's clothing exports totaled US $254 million in the first quarter of 2012 and US $240.1 million in the same period of 2011, up 6% year on year.

The trade surplus between Jordan and the United States is mainly due to Jordan's clothing industry. According to the trade agreement, Jordan's clothing industry exports 100% to the United States market. In addition, the number of employees in Jordan's clothing industry is about 43000, including 8000 Jordanian local residents in QIZ (qualified industrial zone) and 8000 Jordanian local residents outside QIZ.

The US market accounts for 94% of Jordan's clothing exports, while Jordan's clothing trade volume to Arab countries is 1.64 million US dollars, that to Israel is 2 million US dollars, and that to other countries is 2.2 million dinars.