Jordan to Import Iraqi Oil at Incentive Pricing

An oilfield is seen in the Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani/File Photo
An oilfield is seen in the Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani/File Photo
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Jordan to Import Iraqi Oil at Incentive Pricing

An oilfield is seen in the Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani/File Photo
An oilfield is seen in the Dibis area on the outskirts of Kirkuk, Iraq October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani/File Photo

Jordan and Iraq on Wednesday stressed their keenness to enhance economic relations and discussed the possibility of Iraq importing 30,000 barrels per day of oil to Jordan at incentive prices.

Iraq started in 2012 providing 10,000 bpd to Jordan at preferential prices of USD18 less than global prices.

The discussions were held between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Rajai Muasher, and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Finance and Planning Fuad Hussein.

Jordan and Iraq stressed their keenness to enhance economic relations. They stressed that the ties between the two nations should be complementary and not competitive to serve both countries' best interests.

Muasher stated that he looked forward to developing ties and enhancing them, affirming the country’s readiness to coordinate with Iraq the sisterly country. In his turn, Hussein expressed pride in Iraqi-Jordanian ties that he described as historic. He added that Iraq entered a new phase after quashing the terrorist groups and forming a new government.

In the transport field, the two sides agreed to increase focus on the Karameh-Tureibil Border Crossing and improve air and maritime transport by providing facilities for importers in the Iraqi private sector.

They also discussed the possibility of exempting Jordanian exports to Iraq from customs fees, establishing joint industrial zones, launching integrated industries, and starting joint investment projects between both countries’ private sectors to encourage Iraqi investments in the Kingdom.

Discussions covered cooperation in energy and electricity sectors, as Jordan can export more than 1,000 gigawatts of electricity to the western areas of Iraq.



Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Trump Taps Scott Bessent for Treasury

(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Scott Bessent, head of Key Square Group and former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, attends the second day of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, July 12, 2017 in Sun Valley, Idaho.(Photo by Drew ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday said he will nominate prominent investor Scott Bessent as US Treasury secretary, a key cabinet position with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs.

"I am most pleased to nominate Scott Bessent to serve as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States," Trump said in a statement released on Truth Social. "Scott is widely respected as one of the world's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists."

Wall Street has been closely watching who Trump will pick, especially given his plans to remake global trade through tariffs and extend and potentially expand the raft of tax cuts enacted during his first term, Reuters reported
The choice came after days of deliberations by Trump as he sorted through a shifting list of candidates. Bessent spent day after day at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida providing economic advice, sources said, a proximity to the president-elect that may have helped him prevail.
Other names that had been floated included Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh. Investor John Paulson had also been a leading candidate, but dropped out, while Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick, another contender, was appointed as head of the Commerce Department.
Bessent, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, particularly to spur more bank lending and energy production, as noted in a recent opinion piece he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
The market's surge after Trump's election victory, he wrote, signaled investor expectations of "higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans."
"Bessent has been on the side of less aggressive tariffs," said Oxford Economics' Ryan Sweet, adding that picking him makes the steep tariffs Trump proposed on the campaign trail less likely.
Bessent follows other financial luminaries who have taken the job, including former Goldman Sachs executives Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson and Steven Mnuchin, Trump's first Treasury chief. Janet Yellen, the current secretary and first woman in the job, previously chaired the Federal Reserve and White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Bessent's home state, said in a statement: "President Trump's economic agenda is in good hands with Scott Bessent. I look forward to working closely with Scott and President Trump to lower inflation and create the golden age of prosperity for the American people."