ISDS Case Map
Egypt
Rachid Mohamed Rachid, appointed to the industry and foreign trade portfolio last July, speaks to Al-Ahram Weekly about his efforts to reinvigorate the industrial sector and to integrate Egypt more fully into the global economy.
A review of European Union free trade agreements in agriculture - looking at Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Chile - and the impact on US interests.
Egypt's Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rachid Mohamed Rachid is bringing three decades of private sector experience to his post, taking on the twin challenge of modernizing industry and expanding foreign trade.
A group of US companies, represented by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), has expressed concern regarding approval by the Egyptian Ministry of Health for some 500 generic versions of patented drugs.
Egypt and the US held the most high-level bilateral trade meeting since 2002 last week - a sign that the eventual opening of formal negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be in the works. However, officials on both sides were vague as to when that might be, saying that there were still important issues to be resolved before proceeding to the next stage of trade negotiations.
The Bush administration in its second term is continuing its drive for closer economic ties with the Middle East, restarting trade-related talks with Egypt this week and formally opening free-trade agreement negotiations with Oman and the United Arab Emirates next month.
The current government seems so eager to reach a free-trade agreement with the US that we fear it might be willing to forfeit Egyptian citizens' right to health.
From November 4-13, 2004, a bipartisan delegation of Members of the Committee on Ways and Means of the US House of Representatives traveled to Tunisia, Jordan, Oman, and Egypt regarding trade, investment, and security issues in the region.
The United States and Egypt are studying the possibility of opening talks for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2005, a U.S. Trade Representative release said.
The push is on once again to secure an Egypt-US free trade agreement (FTA) with the usual optimism in the state press, but few are buying it this time.
