Egypt’s QIZ talks to cut Israeli input on pause after Gaza war outbreak –official

Negotiations between Egypt and the United States to cut the required Israeli input in exports under the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement have been suspended following the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza, a senior Egyptian trade official said on Tuesday.

Speaking during a Zoom call with the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies (ECES), Yahya Elwathik Bellah, head of Egypt’s Commercial Representation Authority, said Cairo had initiated discussions over three years ago to lower the Israeli component, which currently stands at 10.5 per cent.

“These talks were progressing, but came to a halt after the events of October 7 due to the heightened regional instability,” Elwathik Bellah said, without specifying whether or when negotiations might resume.

The QIZ agreement, established in 2004, allows Egyptian products with a minimum Israeli content to enter the US market duty-free. The deal has helped boost Egyptian textile and apparel exports to the US, though the required percentage of Israeli input has long been a point of contention for Cairo.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English