Jordan Market Access

Import regulations and customs duties

Regulations
Jordan did not join the WTO. However, their trade system is fully liberalised. An import license is normally not necessary but a license of exchange is. However, it is obtained in an automatic way and allows to pay in exchange of the documents or to open a documentary credit.

There are quantitative limitations on the import of certain manufactured goods and it is forbidden to import tomatoes, fresh milk, mineral water, table salt and plastic waste. Some specific products are reserved for the State's business such as sugar, wheat, flour, rice, powdered milk, cigarillos, frozen chicken, lentils and olive oil.

A license for the import of fruits, vegetables, certain chemicals, medicines, some foodstuffs and telecommunication equipment is required. Some products also require a license from various public organisations.

Distribution

The main economic and commercial zone is Amman, the capital, along with its industrial suburbs up to Zarqa. It is also the most densely populated zone. Aqaba has a great importance as a port and an industrial area.

The usual system to purchase capital goods and raw materials is direct selling.
With regards to food products, supermarkets (Amman) directly buy their products from foreign exporters or from an exclusive local importer, depending on the product. The rest of the business follows the traditional distribution networks: producer, distributor, wholesaler and retail dealer.

Transportation of goods

By road
Jordan consists of 6,678 km of roads, of which 2,756 km are highways, 1,826 km are tarred roads and the remaining 2,051 km are main roads.

The network constitutes the main source of communication within the country. The condition of the roads is good. A majority of the roads are directed following a North-South axis, which allows to reach easily any part of the country. The main cities are connected with highways.

By rail
The railway network consists of 618 km, and is used in an exclusive way (except for the communication with Syria and some other tourist axis), for the transportation of phosphates from the mines to Aqaba's port, for its loading or its use in fertiliser factories.

By sea
The unique seaport is Aqaba, situated on the Red Sea bank. It has some modern infrastructure, with adequate installations for the loading of hydrocarbons, phosphates and containers. There is a ferry service between Aqaba and Nuwaiba, in the peninsula of Sinai.

By air
Jordan has an international airport, the Queen Alia International Airport, provided with modern facilities. The old Marka's airport, close to the capital, is still used for charter flights. The Jordanian company is Royal Jordanian, of which privatization is under consideration. There are international flights from and to Amman and some national flights between Amman and Aqaba.

Standards

The organisation in charge of the standardisation of products in Jordan is the Jordan Institution for Standard and Metrology (JISM)

Any product, whether locally manufactured or imported, has to follow the Jordanian national standards which, for the greater part, meet international standards. If there are no national standards for a specific product, this has to match the corresponding international standards.

Patents and brands

The organisation in charge of protecting intellectual property is the Department of Trade and Industry which ensures the protection of intellectual property.

The Jordanian legislation on industrial property does not offer enough protection of trademarks and patents even though Jordan is part of the Agreement of Paris for the Protection of Industrial Property and of the Agreement which establishes the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO). The country is also part of the Classification of Nice concerning the International Classification of Products and Services for the Register of trademarks. Jordan's membership to the agreement of Bern for the Protection of Literary and artistic works is currently under consideration.