WT/TPR/M/367/Add.1 30 May 2018 Page: 1/169 Trade Policy Review Body 20 and 22 February

169 Pages·2017·1.74 MB·English

WT/TPR/M/367/Add.1

30 May 2018
(18-3227) Page: 1/169
Trade Policy Review Body Original: English/Spanish
20 and 22 February 2018 anglais/espagnol
inglés/español

TRADE POLICY REVIEW
EGYPT
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
Addendum
Chairperson: H.E. Mr. H.E. Junichi Ihara (Japan)
This document contains the advance written questions and additional questions by WTO
Members, and replies provided by Egypt.1

Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales
20 et 22 février 2018
EXAMEN DES POLITIQUES COMMERCIALES
ÉGYPTE
COMPTE RENDU DE LA RÉUNION
Addendum
Président: S.E. M. H.E. Junichi Ihara (Japon)
Le présent document contient les questions écrites communiquées à l'avance par les
Membres de l'OMC, leurs questions additionnelles, et les réponses fournies par Égypte.1

Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales
20 y 22 de febrero de 2018
EXAMEN DE LAS POLÍTICAS COMERCIALES
EGIPTO
ACTA DE LA REUNIÓN
Addendum
Presidente: Excmo. Sr. H.E. Junichi Ihara (Japón)
En el presente documento figuran las preguntas presentadas anticipadamente por escrito y
las preguntas adicionales de los Miembros de la OMC, así como las respuestas facilitadas por
Egipto.1

1 In English and Spanish only./En anglais et espagnol seulement./En inglés y español solamente.
WT/TPR/M/367/Add.1

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INDIA
Replies to questions from India

Secretariat Report (WT/TPR/S/367) Page 28 para 2.22

Question 1: Egypt maintains the list of reference countries for the import of pharmaceutical
products based on the old GMP certification. Could Egypt clarify the reason for following old GMP
certification and suggested remedial measures to address this problem?

Reply:
Limiting the number of approvals for registration of pharmaceutical products aims to:

- Control the huge number of requests for registration of pharmaceutical products, which may
hinder reviewing and auditing of the scientific studies submitted to demonstrate the efficiency and
efficacy of pharmaceutical products.
- Prevent accumulating certain categories of pharmaceutical products in the Egyptian market
without any real benefit to the patient. Companies often wish to register commercially profitable
generic products, not the most therapeutic ones, such as non-descriptive preparations (OTC).
- Limiting numbers of the pharmaceutical products of certain categories encourages
companies to apply for registering various pharmaceutical preparations, and search for new drugs
that serve the patient.
- Encouraging local investment in the field of pharmaceutical manufacturing, as the rules
allow the registration of 10 pharmaceutical products, thus contributing to the development of
national pharmaceutical industries.

Question 2: Egypt has placed limitation on number of approvals for the registration of new drug
products for each category. Could Egypt elaborate on the rationale behind limitation for the
registration of new drugs and the proposed remedial measures?

Reply:
- The reference countries are approved by the "Technical Committee for Drug Control" based
on the existence of effective and approved regulatory systems in such countries, taking into
consideration the data available by the World Health Organization in this context.
- It is important to note that classifying a certain country as a non-reference country does not
affect the acceptance of imported pharmaceutical products from this country as it mainly depends
on the extent of verification of the efficacy and quality of the product and evaluation of the GMP
compliance of the manufacturing site of the pharmaceutical product.

Secretariat Report (WT/TPR/S/367) Page 59 para 3.1.4

Question 3: Wide Ministerial Decree No. 417 of 2014 issued by the Minister of Trade and
Industry, Arab Republic of Egypt, the import of tuk-tuks (three wheelers) was banned till further
notice. India would like to know the reason behind the ban and the intended duration of the ban?

Reply:
Egypt has suspended the importation of tuk-tuk vehicles for national security reasons especially in
light of the terrorist attacks Egypt has been facing since 2011. Furthermore, the tuk-tuk vehicles
are still not regulated hence it is hard to track them. Hence, it is imperative to legalize the position
of the tuk-tuk vehicles and regulate them, before opening the market for new imports.

Regarding the validity period of Ministerial Decree 417/2017, it will be revised upon the finalization
of the licensing and regulating process for the existing tuk-tuk vehicles.

Secretariat Report (WT/TPR/S/367) Page 86 para 3.3.3

Question 4: With reference to the standards for import of milk powder, India would like to know if
Egypt is in process of adopting the Global Codex standard for Aflatoxin M1 levels and if so, what
are the expected timelines for this revision?
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Reply:
- The Egyptian organization for Standardization and Quality issued the Egyptian Standard
No. 7136/2010, "Maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs" which was adopted the
technical content of European legislation No. 1881/2006 (and its amendments that may occur).
The modification of the maximum limit of aflatoxin for powdered milk to the limits set by CODEX
has been the subject of study by the technical committee for milk and milk products, however the
Committee decided to keep the limit in ES 7136/2010.

Question 5: Pursuant to the issuance of Decree No. 43 of 2016 by the Minister of Trade and
Industry, Arab Republic of Egypt, it has become mandatory for foreign manufacturers to register
for export of certain items (around 25 categories of products) with the Egyptian General
Organisation for Export and Import Control (GOEIC) prior to shipment. India would like to know
the reason for this requirement of registration and the intended duration of this requirement?

Reply:
The purpose of the Decree is to ensure that the entities exporting to Egypt maintain a quality
control system to confirm that the products specified in the Decree and that are used by natural
persons are the outcome of a quality controlled production process. Despite the fact, that the
imports of such products represent only a minimal share in total Egyptian imports, it has been
found out that the Egyptian market has been invaded by products that are the outcome of illegal
manufacturing practices. This has had a negative impact on the health and safety of consumers
and subjected them to deceptive practices.

This requirement is not time bound. However, the government of Egypt is constantly reviewing
and assessing its measures and regulations that affect imports and trade in general with the
ultimate goal of enhancing the business environment and facilitating trade. Hence, any changes in
these measures and regulations are duly published and made available to the economic operators.

Question 6: In the past, some of the tenders by the selected group of companies (Public Sector
companies) had specifically asked the bidders to give project references in few specific countries,
restricting the companies from India to bid for these projects. Could Egypt provide an explanation
for these restrictive measures and what step the government is taking to ensure
non-discrimination?

Reply:
Concerning the complaints from some Indian companies in relation to the preferences provided by
Egypt to some specific countries through providing project preferences in evaluating the tenders
and not giving the same opportunity to the Indian investors and providers, Egypt would like to
refer to the following elements:

(a) Article (2) of Law No. 89/1998 organizing tenders and Bids states that all the public
tenders are subject to the principals of Transparency, equal opportunities, equality & free
competition.
(b) Tender procedures in all projects are made with complete transparency, and thus the
following points are to be elaborated:

1) In general, companies provide specific conditions to be adhered by all contractors and
subcontractors, accordingly these conditions are examined according to the terms and
conditions booklet to evaluate their previous experience and their other documents.
2) Thus, there is no problem to accept subcontractors submitting technically and financially
acceptable tender during the implementation phase. This is in the case of acceptance of
the submitted documents in accordance with what the contract has stipulated concerning
the possibility of adding sub-contractors during the period of implementation provided that
the submission of documents with prior experience.
3) Finally, there are no discriminatory practices against Indian companies at all, giving the
evidence that:
a) On 2/3/2013 the Indian Company called "Dee" has contracted as a main contractor on
the project of "Critical Pipe Operation" in North Giza.
b) On 18/8/2014 the Indian Company called "Dee" has contracted as a main contractor
on the project of "Critical Pipe Operation" in Suez.
c) GEA – BGR energy system Company has contributed as a subcontractor in the "Steam
Turbines Operation" to supply Ball Cleaning system and Debris filter in South Helwan.
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OMAN
Replies to questions from Oman

Could you please inform us about the latest reforms undertaken by Egypt toward
facilitation of trade with WTO Members and especially neighbouring countries?

Reply:
The latest reforms undertaken by Egypt towards trade facilitation, in line with implementation
issues of WTO/ TFA can be listed as follows:

Minister of Finance Decision No. 204/2013 amending the Executive Regulations of the Customs
Law was issued in order to activate the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO system) in Egypt. The
system is managed by Egypt's Customs Authority (ECA) in accordance with the WCO SAFE
Framework, in order to facilitate and expedite the procedures of imported and exported AEO
consignments. Publication 51/2013 establishes the conditions for approving the AEO engaging in
importing and exporting; Publication 3/2017 establishes the conditions for the approval of
warehouses and brokers providing services to the AEOs.

To simplify procedures, Minister of Finance Decree No. 256/2015 amended Articles 63 and 64 of
the Regulations under the Customs Act to reduce the number of documents required for import
and export processes and to allow their submission electronically. Minister of Finance Decree
No. 40/2017 mandated Customs to start work on producing and implementing a Single
Administrative Document (SAD) in the import customs posts and would soon be using it in the
export customs posts.

Egypt issues advance rulings with respect to tariff classification and rates. The determination
remains valid if no changes occur at the time of importation. The ruling does not preclude
verification upon importation of the products, without any liability whatsoever on the Customs
Authority.

Prime Minister Decree No. 2295/2015 created the Ministerial Steering Council for Egyptian Trade
Facilitation "EgyTrade", chaired by the Minister of Trade and Industry, and comprised of the
Minister of Finance, the Minister of Transportation, the Minister of Investment and International
Cooperation, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, the Chairman of the Federation of
Egyptian Industries, the Chairman of Egypt's Federation of Commercial Chambers, and
businessmen associations. EgyTrade aims at the creation of an Egyptian National Single Window
(ENSW) system. In the framework of implementing the ENSW project, the ECA has taken into
consideration international best practices and the experience of other countries. A working group
has been established following a Decision from the Egyptian Customs commissioner, which
includes four teams: legislation, documents, procedures, and technology. Similar working groups
have been established in the Ministry of Transport, the Maritime Transport Authority, the Ministry
of Trade and Industry and the GOEIC. The stage of studying the status quo had been concluded
and that they were currently working on the simplification of procedures and documentation
(re-engineering procedures).

A team of Egyptian experts has finalized a study on the current business processes, procedures
and documents, for the purpose of business process reengineering to overcome any weakness that
could constitute a hindrance to trade facilitating. This is part of preparation/work plan for
establishing a national single window which is a part of implementing the articles of the TFA in
order to promote trade facilitation.

The ECA follows Integrated Supply Chain Management (ISCM) procedures; has x-ray scanning
devices available to carry out inspections; implements a risk management system; has an
intelligence department to help identify high-risk cargo; allows an advance electronic exchange of
information; and coordinates with foreign administrations to detect, suppress and combat customs
offences. With regard to the customs-to-business partnership, the authorities have highlighted the
creation of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program, through Ministry of Finance Decision
No. 204/2013, and the protocol signed between Customs and the GOEIC for its implementation.

Egypt applies a risk management system by which it routes imports into two different channels:
green and red. Clearance and release times depend on the channel to which the goods have been
routed. The main risk assessment factors that are taken into account are: country of origin, port of
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shipping, supplier, shipping agent, importer, broker, HS tariff heading, tariff rate, trade
agreements, exemptions, and special customs regime. Pre-arrival processing and post-delivery
clearance are used on occasion to speed up the release and clearance of goods.

The challenge will be to seek to reduce further release times as the risk management system is
improved, and other trade-facilitating measures are adopted. The ECA has been engaging in a
number of actions geared at facilitating trade. They have included interacting with port authorities
to reduce the time of release and therefore cost. Customs has also put in place x-ray devices (total
of 102) in most customs posts to facilitate trade and customs control and reduce release times.
Also, an e-freight import, and export system has been developed for air freight, geared at
facilitating international trade.

The ECA's website has been upgraded and a questions-and-answers system has been activated.
The authorities have indicated that information available on the website is being updated on a
daily basis, and that the tariff is published on it.

Trade Facilitation competent authorities are seeking to promote the use of electronic commerce, to
facilitate trade, to foster efficient collection of customs duties and other border taxes, and to step
up the fight against commercial fraud, trade in counterfeit goods and smuggling.

Trade Facilitation competent authorities conduct periodic reviews regarding Egypt's obligations in
international organizations, reflecting its international commitments and its participation in
international bodies.

Egypt's Customs Authority has 10 bilateral administrative cooperation agreements for the
exchange of customs information: with Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan,
Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.

Egypt is also trying to promote trade facilitation with neighbouring countries. Preparation of a draft
agreement on security and trade facilitation within the Arab League is ongoing. Furthermore,
Egypt has started consultations with Jordan and Saudi Arabia to allow their customs offices to
exchange information electronically. Egypt is also holding talks with Sudan to introduce a
"one-stop shop" for trade between the two countries.

On the regional level, the ECA has developed a strategic training plan which was discussed on the
meetings held in the Arab League through the support and participation of the Regional Training
Office of the WCO in Bahrain.
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CANADA
Replies to questions from Canada
Secretariat Report
Summary: paragraph 14, page 10
The Secretariat Report notes that "Despite recent reforms, Egypt's tariff system remains
somewhat complex, with a number of exemptions, reductions, and concessions."

1. Does Egypt have any plans to simply its tariff system and to reduce its applied tariffs?
Reply:
The customs tariff is deemed one of the fiscal policy instruments designed in accordance with the
national economic policy and in line with the change in economic conditions at the national and
international levels. Since 2004, Egypt has expanded the scope of its overall trade reforms to
include trade liberalization. In this context, many measures have been taken, including tariff
reductions by the Presidential Decree No. 300/2004 and the Subsequent Presidential Decrees.
Some tariff lines are subject to ad valorem duties, while other tariff lines are subject to other
specific duties, as commonly accepted in the international trade.

Egypt is currently preparing its applied tariffs according to Harmonized System 2017, the new
applied tariffs will be duly issued and published. In this context, Egypt will take into consideration
the continued efforts of simplifying the tariff system with the aim of facilitating trade.

Within the framework of economic reform, Egypt introduces Value Added Tax (VAT) system to
replace the Sales Tax system to change the tax-oriented accounting system. Such approach has
been adopted by many countries since the middle of the last century, so that. Contrary to the
Sales Tax system, the tax is imposed on the value added of a product or service.

Part III. Trade Policies and Practices by Measure: Measures directly affecting imports:
Customs procedures, valuation, and requirements: Trade facilitation: paragraph 3.23,
page 44:

The Secretariat Report notes that the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) was approved by
the Egyptian Parliament on 22 June 2017 and ratified by Presidential Decree No. 149/2017.
However, as of early November 2017, the instrument of acceptance of the TFA had still to be
deposited in the WTO. Egypt submitted its Category "A" commitments in January 2015
(Table 3.2). The authorities have indicated that they are currently working on category "B" and "C"
commitments.

2. When does Egypt plan to submit its instrument of acceptance of the TFA and notify its
category B and C commitments?

Reply:
Great efforts were exerted to ratify the TFA, Trade Facilitation department (TFD) under the
auspices of Trade Agreements Sector, Ministry of Trade and Industry went through all the
complicated domestic procedures required for the completion of ratification process. The
agreement was discussed through the Foreign Affairs and Contracts Review Committee at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. TFD responded to all inquiries related to the agreement and its
provisions, explained the vitality of TFA to obtain domestic support required to ratify the
agreement, then TFA was ratified through two sessions of the Economic Committee of the
parliament and hence presented to the plenary session that approved to ratify TFA on
22 June 2017 and ratified by Presidential Decree No. 149/2017.

As for depositing the instrument, Egypt already communicated with the WTO Secretariat and the
legal department concerning TFA instrument of acceptance. Egypt is about to deposit the
instrument in accordance with the model document set by the WTO Secretariat which is unified for
all Member States confirming that TFA will be attached or annexed to the Marrakech Agreement.
Category B and C commitments will be notified soon, Egypt is already undertaking all the
necessary preparations with different stakeholders to come up with commitments in Category (B)
and their corresponding indicative dates needed for implementation of the provisions. As well as,
discussing within the framework of the National Trade Facilitation Committee the needs and
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technical assistance required to implement the commitments established in accordance with
Category (C) under the TFA.
Part III. Trade Policies and Practices by Measure: Measures directly affecting imports:
Tariffs, Bound Tariffs, Section 3.1.3.3, paragraph 3.52, page 54
The Secretariat Report notes that "Although [Egypt's] applied MFN rates are in most cases
considerably lower than bound rates, in the 2017 tariff some 46 lines exceeded their bindings."

3. Could Egypt specify why the applied rates of these 46 tariff lines exceeded their bound
rates? What measures is Egypt planning to take to comply with its WTO commitments?
Reply:
Egypt is currently reviewing the transposition of its schedules of commitments from one HS
version to another as it has been discovered that there is a need for rectification for a number of
tariff lines the bound tariffs of which were wrongly transposed and the appropriate procedures will
be taken in the context of the Committee on Market Access.

It should also be noted that according to the Egyptian Legislation, WTO schedules of Commitments
are superior to National Law. Hence, in cases were the applied tariff exceeds the bound tariff, the
bound tariff is applied to imports from WTO members. In addition, in preparing the new applied
tariff in accordance with HS 2017, Egypt will ensure a unified tariff for both WTO members and
non-WTO members set at the bound rate levels or below.

Part III. Trade Policies and Practices by Measure: Measures directly affecting imports:
Tariffs, Other charges affecting imports, Section 3.1.3.6, paragraph 3.662, page 58
The Secretariat Report notes that "Egypt also applies excise taxes, which were introduced in 2010,
on some products (Table 3.12). While certain goods and services are subject to schedule (excise)
tax only, a number of goods and services are subject to the excise tax in addition to the general
VAT rate (Table 3.13)."

4. Could Egypt provide information on its excise taxes and confirm whether its excise taxes
apply equally to domestic products and imports?
Reply:
The new VAT law applies a unified tax rate of 14% on all goods and services with an exception to
certain schedule 1 goods. Excise taxes apply equally to domestic and imported products.

 The New VAT Law stipulates that the excise tax is a tax that is levied in specific rates or at
specific values on the sale or the importation of local or imported goods and services
referenced in Schedule one, which is annexed to the Law.

 Under the VAT Law, importers register any taxable product whether it being part of the
Schedule 1 goods or not, regardless of the size of the transaction

 Article 2 in chapter 2 of the Law stipulates that the VAT tax is levied on goods and
services, including schedule 1 goods and services in schedule 1, whether domestic or
imported, at all stages of their circulation excluding exceptions cited by a special provision
in the law

 Both domestic and imported products are treated equally under the new VAT Law whereas,
o The value to be used as a basis for determining the tax on the sales of goods and
services provided in Schedule 1 is as follows:

 Sales of local goods and services: The value actually paid or payable in any
form of payment plus the schedule 1 excise tax
 Sales of Imported goods: the value taken as a basis for determining the
customs tax plus customs taxes, other taxes, fees, and schedule 1 excise
tax
 Sales of imported services: the value actually paid or payable in any form
of payment plus the schedule 1 excise tax.
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EUROPEAN UNION
Replies to questions from the EU

Secretariat report ((WT/TPR/S/367)
1 Economic Environment,
1.2. Recent Economic Developments, Fiscal Policy,
Page 16
As a result both of the subsidy and exchange rate reforms and the 12 billion USD IMF agreement,
Egypt's economic outlook is improving. However, the EU considers that further measures need to
address, inter alia, the role of the private sector as primary engine of growth and job creation.

EU question No 1: What measures are envisaged to modernize the regulatory framework and, in
particular, to support greater trade integration and increase transparency and accountability of
state owned enterprises?

Reply:
Measures to increase transparency and accountability in SOEs:
- The last two years witnessed a renewed focus on Corporate Governance(CG) of Egyptian
SOEs under the Law 203/1991. Corporate Governance code for Egyptian SOEs was launched in
2007 based on OECD principles, and a new revised code is currently being finalized by a
committee formed by the ministry to accommodate the new additions and modifications which
took place in the new 2015 SOE CG Code adopted by the G20. One aspect of this new code that
truly needs to be highlighted specially in the case of Egypt is securing the "independence" of an
SOE from state influence, which was emphasized in the third chapter of the new OECD code. Since
1991 to date, there is still evidence of companies under Law 203 overburdened by social costs, like
pharmaceutical companies.

- In light of the aforementioned, a revival of CG as a priority commenced in 2016 with a set of
ministerial decrees covering key flaws in the system of Egyptian SOESs falling under Law 203.
Examples of those decrees include (1) demanding that general assemblies of SOEs take into
consideration selecting board members of different expertise including finance, marketing, or legal
experts not only industry-related members. (2) All SOEs under Law 203 have been instructed to
form independent "Audit Committees". Objectives and role of audit committees are being
explained to corporate level management through seminars.

Paragraph 1.8, page 15
Reference is done to the Egyptian national development strategy.

EU question No 2: For the Egyptian economy, key areas include gas, oil industries and petroleum
derivatives and other minerals. In the context of the Egyptian national development strategy, what
other sectors is Egypt planning to focus on in terms of its exports in the near future?

Reply:
It is Egypt's national strategy to enhance value addition in key sectors not only to meet the
demand of the local market but also to increase exports . The main sectors of focus are Textiles
and Clothing, Chemicals and petrochemicals, Building Materials, Engineering goods and Agri and
processed food.

Paragraph 1.15, page 18
The report states that further reducing of the domestic debt stock remains a key challenge as
Egypt tries to diversify sources of financing, lengthen debt maturities and reduce the cost of
borrowing while aiming not to crowd out credit for the private sector.

EU question No 3: Could Egypt elaborate on the possibility to diversify the sources of financing?
Reply:
Diversification of sources of financing for the fiscal year 2017/2018 and on the medium
term:
The Ministry of Finance's policy aims at diversifying the sources of financing between domestic and
foreign currencies to limit the impact of high interest rates in the domestic market on debt service,
by relying on concessional loans with low cost and long terms maturities available for the ministry
of Finance.
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In addition to extending the maturities of Treasury bills and bonds to longer terms, while
expanding the investor base and thus contributing to the gradual reduction in the cost of debt
service by attracting investment institutions to subscribe to treasury bills and bonds in the local
market.

The Ministry of Finance has managed to issue $4 billion in dollar bonds with maturities ranging
from 5 to 10 to 30 years in January 2017. As well as the development of new financing
instruments such as sukuk and the revitalization of the secondary bond market.

2 Trade and Investment Regimes,
2.2 Trade Policy Formulation and Objectives,
Paragraph 2.14 page 27
As stated in the report, the authorities have indicated that Egypt's economic policy objectives are
aimed at achieving private-sector led, outward-oriented economic growth, by maintaining a stable
macroeconomic environment, creating a business-friendly environment, attracting foreign direct
investment, and developing capital markets.

EU question No 4: Has Egypt carried out any direct assessment of impacts of policies on the
competitiveness in the respective sectors? Is Egypt taking measures to increase the
competitiveness of its automotive industry in order to attract more foreign investment in this
sector?

Reply:
New Civil servants law 81/2016 stipulated that each government institution has to establish a
policy unit to formulate the policy, develop the strategy, and monitor and evaluate through
carrying out impact assessment of that policy.

ERADA (Egyptian Regulatory Reform and Development Activity) has been re-operationalized to
conduct the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of the different policies and regulations. This has
been done in the case of the impact of policies and regulations including the devaluation policy,
the trade policy, the industrial development policy, the industrial licencing law on job creation,
increased investments , and the improvement of the
balance of trade.

However, those impact assessment activities are still in the process of maturity through building
the capacities of those policy units within the government.

On the automotive industry, the government of Egypt is currently exploring the appropriate policy
options to enhance the competitiveness of the automotive industry and attracting foreign direct
investment. In deciding on those policy options, Egypt will ensure that it fully complies with its
commitments at the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels. Furthermore, establishing industrial
clusters in area of car components and feeding industries in the Suez Canal axis and the 6th of
October are part of the Industry and Trade Development strategy 2016-2020.

2.3 Trade Agreements and Arrangements
Paragraph 2.33, page 30 and paragraph 3.29, page 45
Reference is done to the Agadir Agreement as well as to paragraph 3.29, mentioning initiatives
regarding Trade Facilitation with other partners such as the Arab League, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

EU question No 5: Could Egypt indicate its priorities within the Agadir agreement in particular
regarding trade facilitation and also the initiatives launched with the Arab League and Jordan as
mentioned in para 3.29?

Reply:
According to Agadir agreement, especially Article 8: Non-Tariff Barriers" "The Member Countries
engage themselves to remove immediately all non-tariff barriers, including arrangements and
procedures which might be adopted by Member countries to control imports. Such barriers may
specifically include quantitative, currency, administrative and technical barriers, which might be
imposed on importations. No new non-tariff barriers may be imposed, this is in accordance with
World Trade Organization rules, the agreement for facilitation and development of commercial
exchanges between the Arab states, and the arrangements of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area."
Accordingly, the member states have taken several actions to facilitate trade among themselves:
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1) Electronic exchange of information protocol has been signed between customs authorities in
the four countries.
2) Agreement on mutual recognition of authorized economic operators in the member states has
been signed.
3) Finally, in 2018 work plan of the ATU, a working group on trade facilitation has been
established.

Paragraph 2.47, page 33
In January 2012, the African Union decided to establish a Continental Free Trade Area that will
bring together 54 African countries by 2018. This agreement aims to create a single continental
market for goods and services and pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Customs
Union.

EU question No 6: The EU would like to know Egypt's intentions regarding the implementation of a
0.2% levy on its eligible imports in order to contribute to financing peace and security efforts at
the level of the AU following the AU Summit decision.

Reply:
Egypt fully respects all WTO rules and obligations as well as its commitments under its regional
and bilateral trade agreements.

3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE
3.1 Measures Directly Affecting Imports
3.1.1 Customs procedures, valuation, and requirements
Page 39

EU question No 7: Does Egypt require preferential origin declarations to be certified by Chambers
of Commerce in the exporting countries?

Reply:
According to article (23) of the Customs Law regarding accepting the invoice for customs
purposes:

"The owner of the goods must submit his original invoice certified by the competent authority to
the Customs Authority, except in cases determined by the Director General of Customs."
Thus, it applies as well to the preferential origin declaration since it is considered both as a proof
of origin and an invoice.

Paragraph 3.9, page 41
Minister of Finance Decree No. 256/2015 amending Articles 63 and 64 of the Regulations under
the Customs Act aimed at reducing the number of documents required for import and export
processes and to allow their submission electronically. Nevertheless, Central Bank Instruction of 21
December 2016 stipulates that customs documents which are related to import transactions
conducted through 'cash against documents' must only be exchanged between the importer and
exporter's banks. Previously, customs documents were allowed to be sent directly from the
exporter to the local importer or its representative in Egypt. Exporters consider the compulsory
intervention of a foreign and Egyptian Bank in the transfer of import documents as time consuming
and complicated.

EU question No 8: Does Egypt envisage to simplify the process and revert back to the previous
procedure, allowing exporters to send custom documents directly to the importer or its
representative in Egypt and not through banks?

Reply:
For the time being there are no regulations intended to be issued to cancel these instructions.
However, the CBE monitors the market and the issue could be reconsidered at a later stage.

On another note, it is worth mentioning that the CBE in cooperation with the Customs Authority
managed to automate the process of imports release between the banks and the Customs
Authority which reduced the duration of the import transaction.