Egypt encourages regional cooperation based on peaceful coexistence and economic and political stability. Expanding trade with neighbors and within region is an important step towards integration in international market; this must include sourcing from foreign location and regional and global approach for production and service delivery.

Egypt aims at establishing the appropriate conditions for liberalization and wider access to markets through social cohesion.

Egypt has signed multilateral and several bilateral agreements to promote and develop competitiveness of the Egyptian exports, enhance trade, and improve the balance of Trade. These agreements offer Egypt access to the world’s largest markets, and give investors in Egypt a manufacturing base for exports. The agreements will also accelerate the improvement of trade and investment practices.

WTO AGREEMENT

Egypt is one of the founding members of the world trade organization (WTO). It has abided by a strict timetable of trade liberalization according to the rules of the WTO.

EU PARTNERSHIP AGRREMENT

The agreement with European Partnership has two main objectives, firstly to encourage a regional cooperation based on peaceful coexistence and economic and political stability. This objective is realized by providing the appropriate framework for political dialogue to debate such issues. Secondly, it aims at establishing the appropriate conditions for liberalization and wider access to markets, while maintaining social cohesion. The second objective is achieved through the inextricable trade relations as well as the extensive cooperation program existing and implemented with the EU.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

The COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) agreement was signed on 8 December 1994, to replace the PTA Agreement (Preferential Trade Area) of  21 December 1981 and came into force on 30 September 1982. Egypt became a member in July 1998.

The aims and objectives of the COMESA agreement are:

• to facilitate the removal of the structural and institutional weaknesses of member States so that they are able to attain collective and sustained development
• to create and maintain
  
  • a Free Trade Area guaranteeing the free movement of goods and services produced within COMESA and the removal of all tariffs and non-tariff barriers
  • a Customs Union with a common external tariff under which goods and services imported from non-COMESA countries will attract an agreed single tariff in all COMESA states
    
• to create and maintain
  
  • free movement of capital and investment supported by the adoption of common investment practices so as to create a more favorable investment climate – a common investment area – for the COMESA region.
  • a gradual establishment of a payments union and the eventual establishment of a monetary union with a common currency; and the adoption of common visa arrangements, including the right of establishment leading eventually to the free movement of bona fide persons.

There are 19 member states:
Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. There are 11 member states, of which Egypt is one, in the COMESA Free Trade Area (FTA) which offers 100% duty-free for all imported products.

The Egyptian Commercial Services (ECS), affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry, has offices in four of the COMESA countries, namely Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Lusaka, and Nairobi.
You may wish to visit their site at www.tamseel-ecs.gov.eg

Region's population: over 385 million
Age group of 18-39: 50% of the total population
Total GDP: over USD 388 billion
Total trade with the outside world: USD 86 billion pa
Total exports from COMESA: USD 28 billion pa
Total imports into COMESA: USD 58 billion pa
Total trade within COMESA: USD 5.2 billion pa
(figures for 2003)
Total land area: almost 13 million km2

• Huge mineral wealth (copper, phosphates, iron, and cobalt…)
• 90 percent of the land area is yet to be exploited

You may also wish to visit the COMESA site at: www.comesa.int

GREATER ARAB FREE TRADE AREA

Egypt is also determined to foster closer economic links with its Arab neighbors via the conclusion of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) which has been concluded with several Arab countries ) that will breath new life into regional integration projects. (300 million Inhabitants). GAFTA is signed and implemented by 12 Arab countries ( Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia & Emirates ).

OTHER AGREEMENTS AND TREATIES

Egypt is also a member of:

• The Group of fifteen (G15) which was established in 1989 for promoting South-South Cooperation and North –South dialogue in trade, investment and technology in order to pursue collaboration on economic issues and to strengthen negotiating status of developing countries with the developed countries.
• The D-8 is a global arrangement to improve developing countries’ positions in the world economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, enhance participation in decision-making at the international level, and provide better standards of living. The D-8 comprises co-founders Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria.
• The group of 77 (G77) was established by seventy – seven developing countries. It is the largest Third World coalition in the United Nations, The group of 77 provides the means for the developing world to articulate and promote its collective economic interests and enhance its joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues in the United Nations system, and promote economic and technical cooperation among developing countries.

Indirect incentives to encourage and promote investments in Egypt are in the form of a number of treaties that Egypt signed with its major trading partners for:

1. “Encouragement and reciprocal Protection” of investment which has been signed with 84 countries as follows:
   Italy, Tunisia, Libya Ecuador, Argentina, Spain, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Albania, Indonesia, China, Comoros, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Netherlands, Armenia, Lebanon, Turkey, Canada, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Latvia, Greece, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Malaysia, Singapore, Belarus, Gabon, Niger, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Ghana, Chad, Russia, India, Jamaica, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Jordan, Algeria, Slovakia, Tanzania, Syria, Bahrain, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Oman, Palestine, Djibouti, Cyprus, South Africa, Slovenia, Mozambique, Malta, Portugal, Zimbabwe, Georgia, Macedonia, Austria, Cameroon, Qatar, Zambia, Malawi, Central Africa, Nigeria, Korea People’s Republic, Thailand, Chile, Kuwait, Pakistan, Vietnam, Congo, Australia and the OPEC Fund for International Development, Sudan, Finland and other treaties will also come into effect soon.
2. Providing Against Double Taxation which has been signed with 31 countries as follows: Sweden, German, Austria, Norway, Finland, Italy, Iraq, Japan, India, Sudan, United Kingdom, Romania, France, United States of America, Canada, Switzerland,
   Yugoslavia, Denmark, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Hungary, South Korea, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Belgium, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Other tax treaties will also come into effect soon.

The US- Egyptian Partnership for Economic Growth and development, signed in September 1994, was a milestone in Bilateral relations. In July 1999, Egypt and the US signed the trade and investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a preliminary step toward a free trade agreement. Negotiations are still underway.

QUALIFYING INDUSTRIAL ZONES (QIZs)

Overview

The QIZ protocol is a trade arrangement between Egypt and the US granting all products manufactured by public or private, small or large factories, located within the seven designated qualifying industrial zones in Egypt, and satisfying the required rules of origin, an immediate free access to the US market without any custom duties or quota restrictions. The QIZ protocol was signed in December 2004 and its implementation phase started in February 2005.

There are currently 7 QIZs located within 3 geographical areas namely:
- Greater Cairo (South Giza, Nasr City, 10th of Ramadan City, 15th of May City)
- Alexandria (Alamreya – Borg Alarab)
- Port-Said.

For a product to qualify for such preferential agreement, the project must be located within the 7 designated qualified zones and 35% of its final product must be produced locally. Any project located within these 7 designated zones may or may not export to the US under this protocol depending on the owners' preference. QIZs are expected to drive further an already robust textile and garment industry and to encourage its feeding sectors.

Protocol Advantages:

Duty free access to the US Market - Simple requirements to benefit from the free access - All products benefit from the free access - Flexible application of the requirements - No quotas on exported products - Open ended validity of the protocol.

While this protocol is a non-reciprocal arrangement between Egypt and the United States, it is expected to be a step towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

For more details, you may refer to www.qizegypt.gov.eg