Irbid’s industrial exports to the United States top 676 million dollars in seven months
Industrial exports from Jordan’s Irbid governorate to the United States exceeded 676 million dollars in the first seven months of 2026, making the United States the leading destination for the governorate’s industrial output, the Director-General of the Irbid Chamber of Industry, Nidal Sadr, told the Jordan news agency on 5 August 2026.
The figures were given at a meeting bringing together the Irbid Chamber of Industry, the Al Hassan Industrial Estate Investors Association and the leather and garment industries sector of the Jordan Chamber of Industry, convened to review export opportunities in the American market.
| Irbid and the leather and garment sector, first seven months of 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Irbid industrial exports to the United States | more than 676 million dollars |
| Leather and garment sector exports, all destinations | more than 630 million dollars |
| Tariff on Jordanian garment exports entering the United States | zero percent |
A clarification matters here, because the two figures are often reported as though one sat inside the other. The chamber stated that leather and garments ranked first in their contribution to the governorate’s exports to the United States, and separately that the sector’s exports exceeded 630 million dollars in the period with a substantial share directed to the American market. The 630 million dollar figure is the sector’s total across all destinations. The share of it that went to the United States was not quantified, and we do not calculate one.
Ehab Qadri, representing the leather and garment industries sector at the Jordan Chamber of Industry, said the latest trade agreement between Jordan and the United States gives the sector a competitive advantage by allowing Jordanian garment exports to enter the American market at a zero percent tariff. The agreement was not named or dated in the statement.
Hani Abu Hassan, Chairman of the Irbid Chamber of Industry, linked the export push to Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision. Imad Naddaf, Chairman of the Al Hassan Industrial Estate Investors Association, also took part. Participants discussed labour supply, recruitment procedures and the streamlining of processes needed to maintain production and competitiveness, particularly for firms holding international export contracts. Qadri urged companies to meet quality and international market requirements with the aim of positioning Jordan as a regional centre for garment manufacturing and export.
The statement described the sector as a major contributor to national exports and employment but gave no employment figure, no count of factories and no comparison with the same period of 2025.
A note on comparability. The same agency reported on 5 July 2026 that Irbid’s industrial exports rose 8.9 percent in the first half of 2026 to 590.1 million dollars from 541.9 million a year earlier, with the leather and garment sector the largest contributor at 518 million dollars. That half-year total for all destinations is lower than the seven-month figure given on 5 August for the United States alone, so the two sets are not presented on a comparable basis and we do not combine them or derive a share from them.
Why it matters: zero-tariff access to the largest consumer market in the world, held by a single Jordanian governorate at a scale above 676 million dollars in seven months, is a concentrated national asset. Our reading is that the concentration is also the exposure: the value rests on one preferential arrangement and, within Irbid, principally on one sector. The discussion of labour supply and recruitment procedures at the meeting suggests the binding constraint is currently on the input side rather than on demand, which is an easier problem to have.
Looking ahead: full-year figures and any sectoral breakdown of the American share would settle how much of the 630 million dollars is in fact tariff-free trade. Jordan’s Department of Statistics publishes monthly external trade data, and the next release is the place to look for a national figure against which to set the Irbid number.
Sources: Petra, Jordan news agency, “Leather, Garment Sector Reviews US Export Opportunities”, 5 August 2026, reporting the Irbid Chamber of Industry, the Al Hassan Industrial Estate Investors Association and the Jordan Chamber of Industry; Petra, Irbid industrial exports in the first half of 2026, 5 July 2026.
