Egypt’s exports to US surge 17% in first 11 months of 2017

CAIRO – 24 January 2018: Non-petroleum exports to the U.S. significantly increased by 17.5 percent in the first 11 months of 2017 to reach $1.34 billion, compared to $1.14 in the same period of 2016, Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said Wednesday.

Non-petroleum exports represent 90 percent of Egypt’s total exports to the U.S., Kabil added.

The minster further said that the Egyptian and American sides are coordinating notably to enhance commercial and economic cooperation between both states in various fields and to eliminate all obstacles that stand in the way of trade activities between both countries.

Kabil also referred to the ongoing negotiations pertaining to the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which is considered a main tool to remove all trade obstacles between Egypt and the U.S. in a way that will improve bilateral relations over the coming period.

Exports within the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement increased by two percent to stand at $697 million in the first 11 months of 2017, compared to $683 million last year.

Meanwhile, exports within the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program rose by 18.3 percent to reach $81.2 million, up from $68.6 million a year earlier, Kabil said.

The QIZ agreement allows Egypt customs free exports to the U.S. on condition that these products contain 10.5 percent Israeli inputs, while the GSP program offers duty-free access to the U.S. market to a wide array of Egyptian producers.

Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service Ahmed Antar attributed the rise in exports to the efforts of Egypt’s commercial service in Washington, which works on helping Egyptian products enter the U.S market and on maximizing the benefit from the signed trade agreements between Egypt and the U.S.

Among the exports that saw a rise in the aforementioned period were textiles and readymade garments at a value of $832 million, iron and steel at $95.5 million and fertilizers at $79.4 million, Antar said.

Egypt’s non-petroleum exports to the U.S. have also increased by 18.4 percent in the first 10 months of 2017, at a value of $1.234 billion, according to a statement from the Trade Ministry in December.

Meanwhile, the country’s overall exports increased in the first 10 months of 2017, standing at $21.1 billion, compared to $17.85 billion in the same period of 2016, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said this month.

Petroleum exports amounted to $1.96 billion in the same period, compared to $1.6 billion a year earlier.