Missed opportunities, in the opinion of this column's writer, go in two directions: the first is export obstacles, which concern foreign markets and their restrictions, and the second is the disruption of the principle of reciprocity. As for the third, it is unbalanced exemptions and taxes; for example, treating local inputs the same as imported ones in exemption lists, whereas the principle should be to favor local inputs to ensure competitiveness, as in the case of the plastics industry, for example.
The size of the local market for goods is estimated at approximately 27 billion dinars annually, while the contribution of Jordanian industry to the total does not exceed 45%, despite the existence of imported products valued at about 5 billion dinars that have locally manufactured counterparts. I still remember the provocative statements of the President of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, Fathi Al-Jaghbir, in which he said: "There are huge missed opportunities for Jordanian industry in the local market and in markets, valued at over 4 billion dinars."