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Article

2 Oct 2001

Author:
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

US-Jordan free trade deal ratified; includes labour and environment provisions

The Agreement makes Jordan the fourth country after Canada, Mexico and Israel to obtain free trade partner status with the US. Labour and environmental text in the treaty maintains that the two sides will not lower labour and environmental standards for the purpose of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). The deal, if violated by one contractor, could trigger sanctions by the other. These provisions were strongly supported by Democrats who argued that without them, free trade would encourage companies to move operations to the lowest-wage and most environmentally lax nations.