Jordan–U.S. Economic & Diaspora Bridge

Presentation — Jordan–U.S. Economic & Diaspora Bridge

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Concept proposal · For consideration

Jordan–U.S. Economic & Diaspora Bridge

Connecting Talent, Capital, Trade and Innovation

  • concept — not funded

The relationship today

A quarter-century channel, measured

~$7.3B

Two-way goods and services trade totaled an estimated $7.3B in 2024, up 15% (USTR).

  • Current data
  • USTR

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative · 2024 · accessed 2026-08-16

2001 FTA

The 2001 U.S.–Jordan Free Trade Agreement — America's first with an Arab country — eliminated tariffs on qualifying goods by 2010.

  • Historical data
  • USTR

USTR / CBP · 2001 · accessed 2026-08-16

July 21, 2026

On July 21, 2026, the U.S. and Jordan signed an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade — the first such agreement in the Middle East.

  • Current data
  • USTR

USTR / White House · 2026 · accessed 2026-08-16

The composition problem

One sector, one channel

Over 90% of Jordan's garment exports go to the United States (U.S. ITA). Roughly 55–60% of U.S. imports from Jordan are apparel (2024 trade data).

    Estimate ITA

The investment gap

An almost empty lane

$190M (2022)

U.S. FDI stock in Jordan was just $190M in 2022 on a historical-cost basis (BEA via State Dept) — the latest published figure.

  • Historical data
  • BEA

BEA via U.S. State Dept Investment Climate Statement · 2022 · accessed 2026-08-16

$1.6B

Jordan attracted $1.6B in FDI in 2024 (UNCTAD/State Dept).

  • Current data
  • UNCTAD

UNCTAD / U.S. State Dept · 2024 · accessed 2026-08-16

~$4.4B

Remittances to Jordan reached ~$4.4B in 2024 — about 7.6% of GDP (World Bank).

  • Current data
  • World Bank

World Bank · 2024 · accessed 2026-08-16

The diaspora asset

Small, professionally strong, unclaimed

~100–125K

Roughly 100,000–125,000 Americans of Jordanian ancestry or birth, per official U.S. data (2020 Census write-ins: ~122,000; ACS estimates: ~96,000–100,000) — with community advocates arguing the real number is meaningfully higher due to documented undercount dynamics.

  • Estimate
  • Labeled range
  • Census/ACS

U.S. Census write-ins and ACS estimates · 2020 · accessed 2026-08-16

≥2,408

At least 2,408 U.S. physicians entered medical school as Jordanian citizens (JAMA Network Open, 2020) — a floor, excluding U.S.-born Jordanian-origin physicians.

  • Historical data
  • Verified floor
  • JAMA

JAMA Network Open (2020) · 2020 · accessed 2026-08-16

2,441

2,441 Jordanian students studied at U.S. universities in 2023/24 (IIE Open Doors).

  • Current data
  • IIE

IIE Open Doors (2023/24) · 2024 · accessed 2026-08-16

The opening

Jordan's own diaspora strategy points elsewhere — for now

Jordan's flagship diaspora program (IOM–MoFAE, May 2026) prioritizes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Canada — the U.S. lane is not yet a priority in Jordan's own strategy.

The proposal

One bridge, one operator layer

Jordanian companies, talent and projects → an independent U.S. platform → diaspora and U.S. institutions → trade, investment, knowledge and jobs → benefit to both countries.

Full flow on the Ecosystem page.

Tier 1 — proposed first proof points

Jordan Business Gateway USA

A U.S.-domiciled market-entry platform that walks Jordanian SMEs through the ten-to-fifteen sequential barriers of exporting to the United States, end to end.

  • Tier 1
  • Year 1
  • concept — not funded
Read the initiative page

Jordan Global Talent Network

A voluntary, verified professional network matching Jordanian expertise abroad to concrete, time-boxed requests from institutions inside Jordan.

  • Tier 1
  • Year 1
  • concept — not funded
Read the initiative page

A sequenced menu, not a bureaucracy

Ten initiatives, three tiers, published gates

  • Tier 1 — Gateway, Talent Network
  • Tier 2 — seven condition-gated programs
  • Tier 3 — Growth Fund concept with five gates

Economic impact

Deliberately modest scenarios

Base-case Gateway impact: about $5M per year in incremental exports — illustrative scenario. Digital services hub base case: about $3.75M per year in services revenue — illustrative scenario. Investment Network base case: roughly $1.2M per year in committed capital — illustrative scenario.

Scenario estimate — not a commitment, not a forecast. Combined base case ≈ 0.16% of U.S. imports from Jordan.

Governance and safeguards

Independence is the design

  • Independent-majority board, independent chair
  • No single funder would provide more than 25% of revenue under the proposed funding-ethics policy.
  • Annual audit, bilingual public reporting
  • GDPR-grade privacy charter, U.S. data residency
  • Royal strategic sponsorship without governance; counsel-reviewed FARA posture

The proposed next step

Establish a small joint exploratory working group to validate the Tier-1 initiatives, engage stakeholders, and develop a 12-month pilot plan.

concept — not funded

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