US embassy cable - 04AMMAN4983

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004983 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2014 
TAGS: ETTC, MNUC, PARM, PREL, KSTC, IZ, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S BORDER PROCEDURES REGARDING SCRAP METAL, 
SPARE PARTS FROM IRAQ 
 
REF: A. USDAO AMMAN IIR 6 853 0184 04 (6/15/04) 
     B. USUN 1357 
     C. FBIS EUP20040116000015 (1/15/04) 
 
Classified By: DCM David M. Hale.  Reasons: 1.5 (C, D) 
 
1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  Government of Jordan (GOJ) Customs 
Department described procedures for handling scrap metal and 
spare parts at the Al Kerama border station with Iraq, a 
process that was upgraded in early May after the CPA issued 
licensing procedures in Iraq.  Screening at the border 
includes an initial radiation scan and document check, 
followed by referral of all scrap metal and used spare parts 
to a separate border truck yard for review by a Special 
Security Committee.  Those trucks that pass the committee 
screening are sent to a special free zone in Muwaqqar for 
further review.  New spare parts are sent directly to Zarqa 
Free Zone.  High-radiation cargos and those lacking proper 
documentation are refused entry into Jordan.  Of about 
400-500 trucks carrying goods from Iraq into Jordan daily, 
about 150-200 are hauling scrap metal or used spare parts. 
About one percent are rejected and turned back at the border. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (U)  Jordan's handling of scrap metal has attracted 
increasing attention since a batch of low-radiation 
"yellow-cake" uranium  oxide turned up at a Rotterdam scrap 
metal company last December (Ref C) sourced to a Jordanian 
scrap firm that was selling material from Iraq.  Recent press 
reports have reported on the appearance in Jordan's scrap 
yards of hazardous scrap and apparently brand new materials 
-- including metal cables -- that may have been looted from 
Iraq sites, including possibly reconstruction projects. 
 
3.  (C) Ref A notes that some scrap metal shipments contain 
suspect unexploded ordnance (UXO) requiring EOD evaluation at 
the Al Muwaqqar site near the Sahab industrial area 30 
kilometers southeast of Amman.  Ref B notes UNMOVIC finding 
UNMOVIC-tagged dual-use items in Jordanian scrap yards, but 
does not indicate any UNMOVIC coordination with Jordanian 
authorities. 
 
GOJ Policy and Procedures on Scrap Metal From Iraq 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
4.  (SBU)  Amjad Al-Majdoubeh, a special assistant to the 
Customs Director General, told us June 17 that GOJ Customs 
halted imports of scrap from Iraq immediately after the Iraq 
war, but had loosened the prohibition by the fall.  In 
December 2003 the GOJ established a Special Security 
Committee at the Al-Kerama border to review incoming 
shipments of scrap metal and used spare parts.  GOJ Customs 
began tightening up its procedures on these shipments in 
early May after CPA issued regulations implemented by Iraq's 
Ministry of Trade for licensing the export of scrap metal 
from Iraq in April, he stated.  Al-Majdoubeh telephoned the 
Al-Kerama border station customs director in our presence to 
verify the current procedures.  GOJ procedures at the Iraq 
border include radiation monitoring at the border gate where 
Customs agents carry out the first physical inspection of 
trucks and review the documentation.  Required papers include 
an invoice or bill of lading and an Iraqi manifest from the 
Iraqi Border Police (Customs).  If papers are not in order or 
radiation levels are above those set by Jordan's Atomic 
Energy Commission, the trucks are turned back at the first 
border station gate.  Border gate inspectors are also trained 
to make an eyeball inspection for any possible arms or 
ordnance in scrap shipments. 
 
5.  (SBU) All trucks carrying scrap metal or used spare parts 
that pass the first inspection at Al-Kerama are directed to a 
special border truck yard for further inspection by the 
Special Security Committee, which includes officers from 
Customs, Interior, intelligence, and the military.  Trucks 
passing this next inspection are directed to the Inquairn 
Free Zone in Al Muwaqqar. 
 
6.  (SBU)  Al-Majdoubeh emphasized that trucks carrying new 
spare parts are not subjected to this inspection regime; 
rather, if new parts meet the documentation requirements they 
are sent on the Customs Free Zone in Zarqa, he said. 
 
Military Scrap Destined for Europe and India 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
7.  (SBU)  According to the Al-Kerama border customs 
director, an average of 400-500 trucks carrying goods pass 
out of Iraq to Jordan each day (excluding empty trucks).  Of 
these, about 150-200 are carrying scrap metal or used parts, 
he relayed over the phone.  He said that only about two 
trucks each day were turned back at the border after 
undergoing all border inspections.  When asked why so many 
trucks were hauling scrap, he noted that most were carrying 
used military equipment or parts. 
 
8.  (SBU)  Al-Majdoubeh said that most of the scrap metal and 
used parts transits Jordan through Aqaba port for shipment to 
scrap yards in Europe and India. 
 
9.  (SBU) Irregular shipments to date have included whole 
machines disassembled and passed off as used parts and 
low-radiation shipments, said Al-Majdoubeh. 
 
 
10.  (C)  COMMENT:  While an improved inspection regime is in 
place at the border, those irregular shipments that get 
through are a source of concern.  Jordan's ongoing review of 
a Border Management Task Force will be one positive step 
forward toward more comprehensive handling of the problem. 
Also of concern is the policy of turning back high-risk 
shipments without any apparent cooperation with Iraqi 
authorities.  Our source said the GOJ did not know whom to 
call on the Iraqi side regarding turn-arounds of hazardous or 
rejected shipments, even when communication systems might be 
working. 
GNEHM