A step ahead

EFFORTS are underway to speed up the implementation of the Egypt-EU Association agreement, Niveen Wahish writes.

The agreement, which was ratified by the Egyptian parliament a few months ago and by a handful of EU member countries, cannot go into force unless it is ratified by the parliaments of all 15 EU member countries.

"That could extend until 2005," the Egyptian minister of foreign trade, Youssef Boutros Ghali, said at a recent press meeting. To avoid the delay, Egypt and the EU are working on signing an interim agreement through which the commercial part of the deal could be implemented.

The interim agreement was first discussed by Boutros Ghali and Pascal Lamy, EU trade commissioner, in Sharm El-Sheikh, on the fringe of the informal mini-ministerial World Trade Organisation meeting late last month. The two sides hope to have the agreement ready by next October, according to Ian Boag, EU ambassador to Egypt.

The interim agreement would mean that Egypt can start benefiting from the greater quotas provided for in the association agreement for its agricultural exports to the EU. In the meantime, Egypt needs to start dismantling tariffs on EU industrial goods entering into the country. "We will start by dismantling tariffs on raw materials and production inputs," said Boutros Ghali. "This will assist local production."

Under the association agreement, Egypt is supposed to liberalise its market and eliminate tariffs on EU goods entering the country over a transitional 12-year period from the date the agreement goes into force. During that period, elimination of tariffs will take place over four phases, starting with production inputs, then semi-manufactured goods and ending with final products. Automotives will be given the longest transitional period -- 16 years.

Dismantling tariffs was one of the most contentious issues since the inception of the agreement. Part of the manufacturing community are wary of the competition that will result from the liberalisation of the Egyptian market. An interim agreement could stir Egyptian manufacturers to the defence once again. However, as Boag put it, "Having accepted the agreement, it would not make a great deal of difference when it is implemented."

Boag expects the interim agreement to give a positive impression to the international community and to foreign investors that Egypt is serious about liberalising its trade.

Patents made easy

IN SEPTEMBER, Egypt will become party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). By depositing its instrument of ratification at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) earlier this month, Egypt became the 121st signatory to the treaty.

The PCT system offers applicants seeking patent protection in multiple countries the ability to file one "international" patent application with one patent office. Without the PCT, an applicant would generally be required to file separate national patent applications with the office of each country in which patent protection was sought.

Under the PCT, applicants may obtain an international search report and an international preliminary examination report. The information contained in these reports enables applicants to better evaluate the merit of continuing with their patent application before they are required to pay the full range of costs involved.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 10 - 16 July 2003 (Issue No. 646)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/646/ec2.htm