Egypt has demanded the United States reduce the Israeli contribution to products produced under a joint free industrial zone agreement.
Industry and Trade Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour stated that Egypt has officially asked the United States to reduce Israeli components to products produced under the 2004 Qualifying Industrial Zones agreement (QIZ) from 11.5 percent to 8 percent.
The agreement allows certain industrial zones in Egypt duty-free access to the US market, provided they contain Israeli components of a pre-arranged percentage.
On the sidelines of his participation at the EXPO Milano in Italy, the minister said Egypt has also asked the US to broaden the scope of the agreement to cover new zones and industries.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
