72 CHAPTER 4


Egypt is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and GAFTA. Egypt also signed the Agadir Declaration, which established a free trade area among Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia.


The GATT/WTO


Based on the Uruguay Round, Egypt presented base tariff rates for over 600 agricultural tariff lines and offered to bind all agricultural tariffs. For most products, the bindings were in the range of 5–80 percent, and there was a commitment to reduce them progressively. Egypt did not declare any agricul- tural support measures, so it is bound by the 10 percent de minimis restric- tion under which product-specific support may not exceed 10 percent of the value of that commodity and non-product-specific support may not exceed 10 percent of the value of agricultural production.


The Egypt-E.U. EMAA


Egypt’s EMAA with the E.U. came into force in 2004. The agreement seeks to establish a free trade area for industrial products over a 12-year period. The restricted access to the E.U. agricultural market has been the most important barrier to the expansion of Egypt’s agricultural exports. The last version of the agreement includes an enlargement of quotas and longer seasonal win- dows for some Egyptian exports.


The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Egypt became a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa in 1998. The organization includes 20 countries in eastern and southern Africa that are working to reduce trade barriers. A subgroup of 9 countries formed a free trade area and were planning to phase out internal tariffs between 1992 and 2000. Two more countries joined the FTA in 2004, but Egypt is not a member of the FTA. A customs union with common external tariffs was to be established by 2003 (Siam 2002), but disagreements over the levels of external tariffs prevented this from occurring.


GAFTA


Egypt became a member of GAFTA in 1998. According to this agreement, tariffs were to be gradually phased out over the 10-year period following the signing of the agreement. Some topics are still subject to negotiation among the 14 member Arab countries, including an agricultural agenda and rules of origin.


Other Bilateral FTAs


There are several bilateral FTAs between Egypt and other countries in the region. The Egypt-Tunisia Free Trade Agreement was initiated in 1998. It pro- vides an exemption on customs duties for specific products from both countries.


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