VZCZCXRO4185
PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #0272 0522210
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 212210Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7350
INFO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0078
RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS OTTAWA 000272 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAN, NEA/ELA, AND EEB/TPP 
STATE PASS USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ECON CA JO
SUBJECT: CANADA AND JORDAN AGREE TO NEGOTIATE A FREE TRADE 
AGREEMENT 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Canada has announced it is launching 
negotiations with Jordan on a free trade agreement (FTA). 
Negotiations are to begin in April in Amman.  If concluded, 
the agreement would be Canada,s first FTA with an Arab 
country.  Canada hopes the FTA would serve as a gateway to 
other Middle Eastern and North African markets.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On February 20, Trade Minister Emerson announced the 
launch of negotiations toward a free trade agreement between 
Canada and Jordan.  The first round of negotiations is 
planned for Amman in April.  The talks will cover a wide 
range of issues, including trade in goods, rules of origin, 
customs procedures, trade facilitation, monopolies and state 
enterprises, dispute settlement and institutional provisions. 
 Canada will also seek to address labor- and 
environment-specific issues through the negotiation of 
parallel agreements in these fields. 
 
¶3. (U) DFAIT believes that Jordan's expanding economy 
provides opportunities for Canadian exporters in 
manufacturing, agriculture and food, and forest products.  An 
agreement would also better position Canadian business 
vis-a-vis competitors, such as the U.S. and the EU, which 
already have FTAs with Jordan.  An FTA would build on the 
bilateral Air Services Agreement announced in July 2007 as 
well as the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection 
Agreement (FIPA) negotiations which concluded in June 2007. 
 
¶4. (U) The upcoming FTA talks had their genesis during Prime 
Minister Harper's July 2007 visit to Jordan when he and King 
Abdullah announced that both governments would begin studying 
the feasibility of negotiating an FTA.  During the fall the 
Canadian government conducted a domestic consultation 
process, which indicated support for the FTA.  Canadian and 
Jordanian officials then had exploratory discussions in 
November. 
 
¶5. (U) Canadian-Jordan trade flows are modest.  In 2007, 
Canada exported C$60.4 million in goods to Jordan, mostly 
forest products, agriculture and agri-food products, and 
machinery.  Imports from Jordan were even less - C$16 million 
last year, comprised mainly of apparel and agricultural 
products. 
 
¶6. (U) Canada has FTAs in force with the U.S. and Mexico 
(NAFTA), and with Chile, Israel, and Costa Rica.  In 1999 it 
also concluded a "Framework for Economic Development" with 
the Palestine Liberation Organization on behalf of the 
Palestinian Authority.  Several years ago, however, Canada 
lost interest in FTAs, concentrating instead on multilateral 
trade discussions, such as Doha.  However, in 2006, after 
Doha's prospects faded and seeing its major trading partners, 
including the U.S. and EU, negotiate many FTAs, Canada 
decided to re-energize its FTA efforts.  It recently 
concluded FTA negotiations with Peru and signed an agreement 
last month with the European Free Trade Association countries 
of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland (after 
more than a decade's effort).  Besides Jordan, Canada has 
ongoing FTA negotiations with Colombia, South Korea, the 
Caribbean Community, the Dominican Republic, Singapore, and 
four Central American countries. 
 
 
 
Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at 
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada 
 
WILKINS