Two new Egyptian Governorates added to the QIZ agreement

The QIZ agreement is between Egypt, Israel and the United States

01.02.13 / 00:00

01.02.13

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Two new governorates in Upper Egypt, Beni Suef and Minya governorates, have been added recently to the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement.

The QIZ agreement is between Egypt, Israel and the United States. The QIZ agreement was implemented in 2005, allowing Egypt to export from the zones to the United States free of tariffs and quotas as long as a certain percentage of Israeli made goods are used.

Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) are designated geographic areas, within Egypt, that enjoy a duty free status with the United States. Companies located within such zones are granted duty free access to the US markets, provided that they satisfy the agreed upon Israeli component, as per the pre-defined rules of origin.

The two governorates were added to the agreement after securing the joint agreement of all parties to the Protocol.　

In recent weeks, the Egyptian government has been seeking to reduce the stipulated Israeli content requirement from 10.5% to 8%.　