Egypt’s QIZ exporters receive U.S. duty-free treatment

   The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative this week has decided to liberalize the designation of the existing Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs) in Egypt to make all production facilities, present and future, located in these zones potentially eligible to export goods duty-free to the United States.
   Liberalizing the current designation will increase opportunities for trade, investment and production in the existing six QIZs, which include the Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Suez Canal, Central Delta, Beni Suief and Al Minya zones.
   “Qualifying Industrial Zones have helped to dramatically increase trade between Egypt and Israel, demonstrating to other countries throughout the region the practical benefits of peace, cooperation and economic integration,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement. “Egypt’s and Israel’s desire to add new features to their joint QIZ program underscores the success of the program in fostering closer ties between the people, businesses and governments of these two countries.”
   Since the first year of exports under the QIZ program, total trade between Israel and Egypt has grown by more than $100 million.
   In 1996, Congress authorized the president to designate areas, known as Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs), from which Egypt or Jordan can export products to the United States duty-free, as long as these products contain inputs from Israel. The president delegated the authority to designate QIZs to the U.S. trade representative.