In a bid to boost Egypt's exports to the United States, the US is working with Egypt's government and private sector to ensure that Egyptian companies benefit from the US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme.
The programme offers duty-free access to the US market to a wide array of Egyptian producers.
At $2.2 billion in 2010, Egypt's exports to the US under the GSP programme accounted for only two per cent of overall trade volume between Egypt and the US.
"GSP lacks appropriate awareness among major exporters in Egypt," said Mustafa El-Halwagi, chairman of the Industrial Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce, in a meeting held this week in Cairo.
El-Halwagi stated that Egypt has a regular trade deficit of $25 billion per year and $2 billion per month. He added that it was high time for Egypt to make use of the GSP system, especially that Egypt desperately needs to increase its exports. "We have to explore every opportunity in order to improve our economy," he said.
Egypt's top exports to the US under the GSP system include: aluminum products at $14.1 million, building stones at $5.8 million, and vegetables at $2.4 million.
In a similar meeting this week, the Alexandria Business Association and the American Centre Alexandria organised a meeting in the coastal city for business owners, exporters, and leaders of small and medium enterprises. Together they discussed the benefits of the GSP programme.
The US GSP programme eliminates duties on more than 3,400 products entering the US market from Egypt and other developing countries. In 2010, Egypt exported $51 million to the US under the GSP programme, including agricultural and manufactured products.
© Al Ahram Weekly 2012
