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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Conditions for agreement
By Niveen Wahish
Addressing a seminar organised by the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies, US Ambassador to Egypt Daniel Kurtzer stressed the complications that inevitably lie behind any free trade agreement (FTA).
Though Egyptian officials and businessmen have long expressed interest in concluding a free trade agreement with the US little progress has been made towards this end apart from a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed a year ago. The TIFA is designed to provide a platform for discussing freer trade arrangements and might serve as a stepping stone towards a free trade agreement.
Egypt, however, is not ready to settle for the TIFA and wishes to see an FTA materialise in the near future. But, to demonstrate its readiness to begin FTA negotiations, Kurtzer said Egypt needs to do much work on several issues, listing a number of agreements that Egypt needs to catch up with. He said Egypt should have implemented most of the provisions of the World Trade Organisation's Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement. The Egyptian government is currently working on an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) law but it has yet to be submitted to the People's Assembly. Egypt must also comply with the WTO's Customs Valuation Agreement. The country has been granted a one year extension upon the request of the Egyptian government.
Egypt could also join the WTO Information Technology agreement, Kurtzer suggested, which eliminates tariffs on computers, computer equipment, computer software products, telecommunications and related products. Egypt might also think of joining the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement, which liberalises a wide range of telecom services, he suggested.
According to Kurtzer, Egypt could make additional tariff reductions, extra liberalisation of services and could provide more IPR protection through the passage of a new IPR law. He also suggested the country sign the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty. Furthermore, Egypt should consider joining the WTO Government Procurement agreement.
According to the US ambassador, such steps should not be viewed only in the context of an FTA. These moves, he said, will help Egypt grow faster economically, attract more investments, increase exports, produce more jobs and better compete in the global economy.
While admitting that US demands are "not totally unreasonable," Youssef Boutros Ghali, Egyptian minister of economy and foreign trade, said these demands "should not be a prerequisite to start negotiations."
He stressed that free trade negotiations do not happen overnight, but "we need to initiate discussions... An FTA has to happen for the economy to adapt, not the other way around."
