'Jordan-US trade balance records surplus of JD187 million in Q1 2024'

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s trade balance with the US recorded a surplus of about JD187 million in the first quarter of 2024, according to foreign trade data issued by the Department of Statistics (DoS).

The figures showed that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to JD789 million during the period from January to March, compared with JD823 million during the same period of the previous year, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, citing DoS figures.

The value of national exports to the United States increased by 1.03 per cent during the first quarter of 2024, reaching about JD488 million, compared with the same period in 2023, which amounted to JD483 million.

The value of US imports to the Kingdom in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to about JD301 million, compared with JD340 million in the same period in 2023, a decrease of 11.5 per cent.

The report also highlighted that the most prominent Jordanian exports to the US market are clothing, textiles, jewellery, fertilisers, medicines, information technology services, foodstuffs, live livestock, and engineering industries.

The Kingdom's imports from the United States of America consist of mineral products, transportation equipment, machinery, appliances, grains, chemical products, medical devices, food industry products, wood pulp, animal products, furniture, iron products, used clothing, and vegetable oils, as well as wood and its derivatives.

The Jordan-US Free Trade Agreement was signed in October 2000 and entered into full force in January 2010. This agreement contributed to enhancing bilateral trade by approximately 800 per cent.

The trade balance is one of the important economic indicators and represents the difference between the value of imports and exports.