US embassy cable - 04AMMAN9149

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
4110/ITA/MAC/OAC/TCC/NWIEGLER 
CAIRO FOR AGRCOUN CHAUDHRY 
DEPT FOR NEA/LEA 
DEPT PASS TO USTR - C. NOVELLI AND N. SAUMS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2014 
TAGS: ETRD, KIPR, EAGR, KTIA, PREL, PINR, JO 
SUBJECT: NEW INDUSTRY AND TRADE MINISTER ON FTA JC 
FOLLOW-UP, DAMAN, IPR 
 
Classified By: CDA DAVID HALE.  REASONS 1.4 (B, D) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  New Minister of Industry and Trade (MOIT) 
Ahmed Hindawi discussed with Charge follow-up on the Free 
Trade Agreement Joint Committee and other trade issues. 
Hindawi noted "very close" relations with the United States, 
acknowledged that some obstacles to trade might exist, but 
offered to try to solve outstanding problems.  Embassy 
believes Hindawi should make for a cooperative counterpart on 
trade.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Hindawi: Continue Forging Strong Trade Alliance 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
2.  (C)  Charge emphasized the successes of the trade 
relationship and offered the USG,s support and encouragement 
to continue with the efforts related to meeting commitments 
under the WTO, the Free Trade Agreement, and QIZ arrangement. 
 Hindawi was an exuberant advocate of continuing strong and 
"very close" relations with the United States across all 
aspects of his portfolio.  He acknowledged that obstacles to 
smooth trade might still exist, but offered that he would 
build on a transparent and consultative relationship to 
resolve any outstanding issues.  Hindawi expressed gratitude 
for the trade development assistance given to the Ministry 
through USAID,s AMIR (Achievement of Market Friendly 
Initiatives and Results) and JUSBP (Jordan-U.S. Business 
Partnership) programs, which have provided extensive 
technical assistance to the ministry.  (NOTE:  Hindawi was 
present at the creation of these programs, as chief of the 
MOIT,s Industrial Development Department which spearheaded 
them.) 
 
3.  (C)   His next challenge was to develop a strategy of 
sustainability to the initiatives that came out of the USAID 
programs, he said.  Two immediate goals were to start up the 
proposed Jordan Authority for Enterprise Development (JAED) 
and keep the steady pace of legal reforms.  Jordan needed to 
develop the small and medium enterprises (which he defined as 
less than 20 employees) that account for 90 percent of the 
nation,s economic output, he noted. 
 
Tackling Trade Issues; Hindawi Raises DAMAN 
------------------------------------------- 
 
4.  (C)  Charge left with Hindawi a checklist of outstanding 
action items remaining from the June FTA Joint Committee 
meeting (post will fax a copy of the checklist to NEA/ELA). 
Hindawi noted immediately that the issue of food package 
labeling should be resolved by the end of the year, with 
Jordan having clear regulations on requirements for label 
"Sell By" dates.  Hindawi raised on his own the issue of the 
DAMAN conformity program and related pre-shipment inspection 
regime, volunteering that Jordan would try to make "necessary 
amendments" to the program.  If the currently commissioned 
USAID study recommends changes, then the GOJ would adapt, he 
said, noting that the program might be streamlined. 
 
IPR Issues 
---------- 
 
5.  (C)  Charge summarized developments to date on copyright 
law amendments (NOTE:  that would bring the law more closely 
into compliance with the FTA) now before Jordan,s 
parliament, noting that half the law still needed to go 
through a final reading and presentation by the government. 
Hindawi said that he was unfamiliar with the issue but would 
get a full briefing from his staff and would be prepared to 
defend the amendments in parliament to see through their 
passage. 
 
6.  (C)  Charge raised censorship fees, saying the 
exponential increases in such fees for video and audio works 
was creating a new market for bootleggers.  (NOTE:  The 
distributor of the "Troy" DVD told us separately that he 
recently paid 890 Jordanian dinars (USD 1250) for censorship 
fees on the import of twelve hundred copies, versus the old 
fee of 67 JD (USD 95), and complained 
bitterly that outgoing Trade Minister Halaiqa had done 
nothing to solve the issue. END NOTE.)  Hindawi said that he 
was fully committed to intellectual property issues and would 
follow up with the appropriate authorities. 
 
Commitment to Market-Oriented Economic Development 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
7.  (C)  Turning to his broader vision for the ministry, 
Hindawi said that he was committed to ongoing political and 
economic reforms in Jordan.  Under the last cabinet it became 
apparent that government reform could not be realigned 
without a strong engine, thus explaining the appointment of 
Marwan Muasher to a new ministry to handle public 
re-structuring.  The bureaucracy and lack of streamlining was 
a drag on economic development, he said, and required an 
effective, efficient government.  These goals must be met and 
he would work diligently to meet them, Hindawi concluded. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
8.  (C)  Hindawi is an enthusiastic advocate of the mission 
in front of him.  We can expect him to promote free trade 
under his new portfolio and to moderate his enthusiasm for 
the DAMAN program developed by the agency he formerly headed, 
the Jordan Institute for Standards and Metrology (JISM), and 
to try to find a solution to the DAMAN pre-shipment 
inspections affecting U.S. exports to Jordan.  In that 
respect, we are heartened by Hindawi,s volunteering to amend 
DAMAN regulations and adapt the program.  We encourage 
Washington to consider maximizing our response to his earlier 
offer to change the program, and to make every argument to 
transform the "new" DAMAN into more of a post-import market 
surveillance scheme.  Hindawi should now also be more 
amenable to standards conformity enforcement involving 
agencies other than JISM - such as Jordanian Customs, a 
development we would welcome, inasmuch as Customs is 
developing a strong risk-based vetting system. 
 
9.  (C)  By accounts from former staffers and foreign 
consultants, Hindawi is an innovator and a strong leader, who 
delegates tasks, develops his staff, and rewards successful 
initiative.  JISM was awarded the King Abdullah Award for 
Excellence as the best government agency under his 
leadership.  (Then again, he helped devise the award scheme.) 
 As DAMAN illustrates, Hindawi can at times succeed almost to 
a fault in narrowly pursuing an objective.  To the extent 
that we can persuade him that we share the same objectives, 
we can be assured of a high level of cooperation.  That is 
not to underestimate the challenges before him, including 
fending off influential industrialists who are apt to seek 
protection under old-school formulas. 
HALE