Egypt: Trade Profile

Foreign Trade in Figures

The Egyptian market is gradually opening up, especially after signing an agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 2006, and promoting a free trade treaty with the United States. Its three primary export partners are the European Union, which represents more than a third of the trade, United States and Syria. The EU and the USA absorb almost 60% of egyptian exports. Egypt mainly exports mineral fuels and oil, cotton, iron and steel. It imports mainly consumer electronic goods and capital goods, nuclear reactors and nuclear-powered boilers, cereals, food products and chemical products. Import volume has doubled and is twice the export volume, a fact which contributed to the deterioration of the country's trade balance, now a deficit (USD 25.1b in 2010)

Main Partner Countries

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

Main Products

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

To go further, check out our service Import export flows.

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency converter.

Trade Compliance

International Conventions

Member of World Trade Organisation
Party to the Kyoto Protocol
Party to the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Party to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

Main International Economic Cooperation

There is a cooperation agreement with the European Union in force since 2004. It allows industrial goods to enter duty free within Europe. A free trade agreement was signed with 4 countries of EFTA (European Free Trade Association) in 2007 and with Turkey in 2005. The agreement of Agadir between Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia entered in force since April 2007.

Egypt is part of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), a pact of the Arab League entered into force in January 2005 which aims to form an Arabic free trade area. Egypt also belongs to the East African circle with the common market of eastern and southern Europe (COMESA) which should lead to a customs union.

The country have signed a trade agreement with 21 other countries in the São Paulo Round of the Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries (GSTP).

Party of the ATA Convention on Temporary Admissions and Use of the Carnets

No

As a Reminder, the ATA is a System Allowing the Free Movement of Goods Across Frontiers and Their Temporary Admission Into a Customs Territory With Relief From Duties and Taxes. The Goods Are Covered By a Single Document Known as the ATA Carnet That is Secured By an International Guarantee System.
Look Up the Other Member Countries And Read the Web Pages of the World Customs Organization Devoted to the ATA Carnet.

Party of the TIR Convention

No

As a Reminder, the TIR Convention and its Transit Regime Contribute to the Facilitation of International Transport, Especially International Road Transport, Not Only in Europe and the Middle East, But Also in Other Parts of the World, Such as Africa and Latin America.
The UNCTAD Website Allows You to Read the TIR Convention, See the List of Member Countries And to Find Further Information.

Accompanying Documents For Imports

Merchandise sent to Egypt has to be accompanied by the following documents:
- Single Administrative Document (SAD);
- A commercial invoice. It should be in 4 copies and in English;
- A phytosanitary certificate.  Required for fruits, vegetables, seeds, and other vegetation, and is issued by the Regional Vegetation Protection Service;
- A sanitary certificate.  Required for meats and is issued by the Departmental Management of Vetenary Services;
- The EUR1 form.  In order to benefit from the preferential tariff used on imports from the European Union;
- A radioactive non-contamination certificate. Required for food industry products;
- A dioxine non-contamination certificate.  Required for the import of some products;
- A free sales certificate for cosmetics, issued by the Federation of Perfume Industries;
- The transportation and packing list document.

To go further, check out our service Shipping documents.

Free Zones

Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ)

For Further Information

Website of the Egyptian customs office
Official website of the European commission delegation in Egypt.
MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
MOED Ministry of Economic Development.

Non Tariff Barriers

There is no licensing system, although importing some products requires the prior authorization of the Treasury Department.
One of the difficult principles governing imports is the obligation to ship the goods directly from the country of origin (decree 619/98, November 1998), thus preventing the goods from being regrouped. This law has however been relaxed for companies having subsidiaries in other countries by permitting them to ship from the country of their registered office or from their overseas subsidiaries. Together with this the obligation to get the certificates of origin legalized in the country of origin of the goods has been introduced.
In fact, some products are still banned, especially in the field of textiles and poultry, and automobiles must be imported in the year of their manufacture.
Packaged goods must have an Arabic instruction booklet and all handling instructions must be written in English and Arabic.

Sectors or Products For Which Commercial Disagreements Have Been Registered With the WTO

- Canned tuna in soya oil from Thailand (Egyptian ban);
- Anti-dumping investigation on import blocks frames from Turkey;
- Tariff applied on the import of textile and clothing products;
- Customs duties on match boxes from Pakistan.

Assessment of Commercial Policy

Egypt and the WTO

 

مصر و منظمة التجارة الدولية
Barriers to exchanges

 

حدود الصرف, inventoried by the United States

 

مسجلة من طرف الولايات المتحدة
Barriers to exchanges

 

حدود الصرف, inventoried by the EU

 

مسجلة من طرف الوحدة الاروبية
Sanitary and phytosanitary barriers

 

حدود الصحة و الصحة النباتية, inventoried by the EU

 

مسجلة من طرف الوحدة الاروبية

Standards

National Standards Organizations

EOS, Egyptian Organization for Standards & Quality
NIS, National Institute of Standards

Integration in the International Standards Network

Egypt recognizes the ISO standard. It also accepts the European standards, British, Japanese and American standards. When there is no national standard for a product, Egypt normally uses the ISO standard, the IEC or the codex alimentarius.

Classification of Standards

EGP then a number / year.

Online Consultation of Standards

The Egyptian standards can be accessed from the EOS website on payment.

Certification Organizations

EOS Egyptian Organization for Standardization & Quality
EGAC Egyptian Accreditation Council

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