Qualifying Industrial Zones Committee
QIZ for non-textiles
On November 28, Ali Awni, head of the QIZ Unit at the Ministry
of Foreign Trade & Industry, and Tarek Tawfik, vice chairman of
the Chamber of Food Industries and chairman of the Food Export Council,
spoke to AmCham's Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) Committee about
QIZs for non-textile industries.
A QIZ, Awni explained, is a designated industrial park in Israel,
Jordan or Egypt in which goods manufactured with a specified ratio
of Israeli content may be shipped to the US without any duties or
quotas. To qualify, the industrial park must be designated by the
United States Trade Representative (USTR) in a notice published
in the Federal Register.
Companies located in a QIZ must first register with the QIZ Unit.
Once their applications are approved by a joint committee, their
goods can be exported to the US free of customs duties and quotas.
The QIZ Unit periodically audits companies' compliance with the
rules of the protocol, explained Awni.
Tawfik said that Egypt's stable climate, rich farm land, desert
reclamation projects and skilled labor force give the country a
competitive edge in the agricultural sector. He said the QIZ program
offers exporters quick entry to the US market ahead of the implementation
of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement, and could potentially
attract FDI.
To date, 60 Egyptian food companies have registered in the program
and have exported items - primarily juices, pickled olives, frozen
and dried fruits and vegetables, herbs and processed cheeses - worth
$20 million to the US, duty-free.
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