The combination of a narrowing external trade gap and a sharp rise in the services balance caused Jordan's current account deficit to drop to its lowest level since 1990. In 1992, the current account deficit (according to cash basis) as a percentage of GDP stood at 14.9%. By 1994, this had plummeted to only 4.2% of GDP. The current account deficit then fell from its 1994 level by US$ 139 million, or 35.6%, to US$ 251.7 million in 1995. This led to a drop in its ratio to GDP to 3.9% in 1995. In 1996, the current account deficit further declined to 3.3% of the Gross Domestic Product. In 1996, Jordan recorded 38.7% increase in its services balance surplus, a total of US$ 520 million. In 1997 the service balance surplus increased by 1.8%, but decreased as a percentage of the GDP from 27.8% in 1996 to 26.9% in 1997.

In 1997, domestic exports registered a modest growth of 2.6%, while re-exports decreased by 5.7 % in 1997. Imports decreased in 1997 by 4.5% to US$ 4.09 billion. The 1997 trade balance deficit decreased by 8.5% over 1996.

The rise in imports is largely due to the increase in foodstuff prices, one of Jordan's major imports. Machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods and mineral fuels and lubricants are largely imported as well. Jordanian exports are dominated by chemicals, minerals and related products such as potash, phosphates, fertilizers. Manufactured products such as pharmaceuticals and detergents account for an increasing share of Jordanian exports.

Geographically, most of Jordan's imports originate in Europe—primarily Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom—followed by Arab countries, the United States and Japan. Iraq remains a major exporter to Jordan, as it supplies most of the Kingdom's petroleum products. The lion's share of Jordanian exports go to other Arab countries, followed by India and Europe.

Jordan is a signatory to numerous trade protocols and agreements with various Arab countries. However, in order to improve its export potential and further develop the region as a trading bloc, Jordan has stressed the importance of replacing protocols and quotas with free regional trade. Recent agreements signed with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have opened up large markets to Jordanian goods, which will be free from almost all customs duties. Likewise, the Egyptian-Jordanian trade protocol signed in 1996 establishes a framework very much approaching truly free trade between the two states.

While the Kingdom has suffered from a chronic trade deficit, it has enjoyed large and growing surpluses in the balance of services. The services balance improved in 1997, registering a 1.8% growth rate. The increase in the services balance surplus led to an increase in its coverage of the trade balance deficit, to 83.7% in 1997, compared to 75.4% in 1996. Coupled with receipts from the tourism sector, receipts from workers' remittances earned US$ 3.63 billion in 1997, representing an overall increase of 66% in the services balance.