Executive summary
Transjordan separated from Palestine by Britain after the World War I, gained in 1946 its independence. In 1950 it is renamed Jordan. After King Hussein's death in 1999, his son King Abdullah II assumed the throne of this constitutional monarchy. Jordan's ethnicity is at 98% Arab and 92% are Muslims.
Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association and had a free trade accord with the U.S. in 2001.
The total of exports to the U.S. was $12.6 million in 2002 and $27.2 million in 2003 (www.usaid .gov). 26.2% of Jordan's export goes in the U.S. However Jordan's export market is heavily dependent on exports to Iraq. It was affected by the Iraq war but recovered quickly while contributing to the Iraq recovery effort. (www.cia.gov)
Regarding the new opportunities offer by the free trade agreements, a non-profit organization, ExportJordan, had so been created to help the development of Jordanian businesses and promote their export. They work with a grant from USAID and focus more specifically on businesses running by women.
"USAID works with the government and businesses to improve their efficiency, increase trade and investment, and create more jobs and higher incomes." (www.state.gov) "The reform effort includes [?], support for small- and medium-sized businesses,?"
Anne Burns, an American woman who already had success in starting several businesses in the US, sees the ExportJordan job opportunity she was ...