VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #8486 3230918
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 190918Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5619
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS AMMAN 008486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS USTR 
USDOC 6000/STANDARDS OFFICE/JENNIFER STRADTMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD JO
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON THE DAMAN PROGRAM AND WHAT COMES AFTER 
 
REF: AMMAN 7770 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR 
DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE USG OR FOR INTERNET POSTING. 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Jordan's long-running DAMAN pre-inspection 
program is set to expire September 2007.  According to the 
head of the Jordan Institute of Standards and Metrology 
(JISM), DAMAN's contractor will have built or upgraded by the 
end of the program four labs to test the safety of four 
categories of products.  Although the DAMAN program is 
ending, JISM's reliance on a twinning program with Germany 
and the emphasis on European standards raises potential red 
flags for U.S. exporters for the post-DAMAN period.  JISM 
says the government will issue a law which will adopt the 
European standards in the form of regulations but with a 
flexibility that allows other technical regulations to also 
be adopted.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Yasin Khayat, the head of JISM, told Commercial and 
Economic Counselors on November 6 that the Bureau Veritas 
(BV) contract for the DAMAN program would expire September 1, 
¶2007.  Khayat said the end of the contract had already been 
announced, and that the program would not be renewed, either 
with BV or any other company.  BV has constructed and/or 
equipped three testing labs (for vehicles, electronics and 
toys), and will complete a fourth for safety and protective 
equipment before the end of the contract.  These labs will be 
privately owned and independent of the government, but will 
be accredited for testing by the government.  The labs will 
test product samples on a random basis only after visual 
inspection has detected a problem. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Khayat, JISM's twinning project with 
Germany is aimed at upgrading its technical and 
administrative capabilities, and is currently reviewing EU 
directives on accreditation, standards, market surveillance 
and metrology.  There are four to six German experts working 
in JISM on the project at any one time.  Once the project is 
completed in October 2007, JISM "would adopt the EU 
standards."  The GoJ would then issue a law designed to adopt 
the standards in the form of regulations.  Khayat, however, 
asserted that a lot of harmonization would be needed and that 
the law would leave room for flexibility so that other 
technical regulations can be adopted.  He asserted that," No 
priority will be given to any one set," adding that many of 
the EU standards were actually based on U.S. ones. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In addition to joining the International Laboratory 
Accreditation Association (ILAC), JISM is also looking at a 
partnership arrangement with ISO and the American National 
Standards Institute.  Khayat asserted that U.S. standards 
would be recognized by JISM as international standards as 
well, and that EU standards would not prevent their adoption. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Khayat said the twinning project was focusing on a 
number of EU directives.  These included low-voltage 
electrical equipment, gas appliances, personal protective 
equipment, toys, construction materials, general safety 
products, and measurement instruments.  Over 1,300 standards 
would be adopted related to these areas; and Khayat promised 
to provide the Embassy with a list of them. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Khayat added that JISM is having a problem with the 
standards on construction materials.  The building code in 
Jordan is based on the U.S. Association for Testing and 
Materials Standards (ASTM) system, and the EU standards are 
very different from the ASTM ones.  JISM will be looking to 
harmonize the EU standards to those of the U.S. building code. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Khayat emphasized again that Jordan will easily be 
able to adopt standards other than those of the EU.  In 
addition, where the U.S. standard is more strict than those 
of the EU, those EU standards would be adopted to the U.S. 
ones through harmonization. 
 
¶8. (SBU)  Khayat also clarified that the risk-based system 
which has been operating over the past year would remain in 
place.  NOTE:  This means that companies whose products were 
defect-free or without any safety issues would continue to 
enter Jordan without anything more than a visual inspection. 
END NOTE. 
 
 
HALE