Doorknock March 2005   Mission Statement Delegates' Profile Mission Report Press Coverage TV interview with AmCham President   Missions To The U.S.

AmCham Egypt Doorknock Mission to Washington D.C: Egypt Moving Forward (March 7-March 11, 2005)

Mission Report :

AmCham Egypt’s Doorknock Mission to Washington took place during a time when issues related to the Middle East dominated the foreign policy agenda in Washington. Recent elections in Palestine and Iraq, combined with limited municipal elections in Saudi Arabia and a popular political uprising in Lebanon, generated a euphoric atmosphere in Washington. While the AmCham delegation was in Washington, President Bush gave a major address at the National Defense University in which he pledged to continue pushing for democracy and “freedom” in the Middle East. Given this environment in Washington, it is no surprise that the AmCham delegation encountered as much or more interest in political issues as in economic and commercial topics.

Prospects for a US–Egypt Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have improved since AmCham’s last visit to Washington in March 2004. Americans who follow Egypt closely are aware of the economic reforms that have been undertaken and the positive impact these reforms have had on economic growth and productivity. Officials at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were especially impressed with Egypt’s economic progress.

Egypt’s QIZ agreement with the United States and Israel has also helped to create an environment more favorable to an FTA; one U.S. official said the QIZ agreement was a “transformational” event that would serve as the foundation for an FTA. And with the U.S. presidential election over, the political environment in Washington is more favorable for free trade agreements; Congress is expected to renew President Bush’s “fast-track” negotiating authority in June, which will greatly facilitate the FTA process.

AmCham encountered no serious opposition to a US-Egypt FTA in meetings with the Administration and Congress. We left Washington with the understanding that in the final analysis, it will be up to the White House to give the “green light” on launching U.S.-Egypt FTA negotiations, and many officials in the White House are currently viewing the Middle East through the lens of democratization.

During five working days, the AmCham Doorknock delegation held over 100 meetings with officials and policymakers in Washington, comprised of:

• 45 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and 3 U.S. Senators, including:

• The Chairman and six Members of the House International relations Middle East Subcommittee.
• The senior Democrat on the House International Relations Committee.
• Six Members of the House Ways & Means Trade Subcommittee.
• The senior Democrat on the House Ways & Means Committee.

• The Senior Foreign Policy and Middle East advisors to Vice President Cheney.

• The Deputy Director and Middle East Director of the National Security Council.

• The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

• The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International trade and Investment.

• The Assistant Administrator of USAID.

• The Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce.

• The Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.

• The Director of International Affairs of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

• The Deputy Administrator for International trade, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• The Editor and Deputy Editor of the Washington Post editorial page.

• New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman (several days after our meeting, Mr. Friedman wrote an op-ed column in the New York Times in which he advocated for a U.S.-Egypt FTA).

• The Country Economist for Egypt at the World Bank.

• Member of the Board and the Representative of Arab countries at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

• The President of the Aspen Institute.

• The President of the Middle East Institute.

• The Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy.

• The Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

• The Director of the Trade and Global Policies Project of the Progressive Policy Institute.

• The Vice President for Foreign Policy and Defense Studies, the American Enterprise Institute.

• The Vice President of the Center for Trade Policy research of the CATO Institute.

• The Research & Editor of the Near East Report at AIPAC.

• Former NSC Director Gen. (retired) Brent Scowcroft.

• Member of the Board at the US Export-Import Bank.

• The Editor of the Arab Reform Bulletin at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

• Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

• An important component of this Doorknock was expanded contacts with the media. In addition to the important meetings with the Washington Post and New York Times noted above, we also met with reporters and/or editors from: Financial Times; USA Today; The Hill; Reuters; National Journal; and Near East Report.

Events

In addition to the above-mentioned individual meetings, several events were held including:

• AmCham Egypt in collaboration with the US Chamber of Commerce hosted a major luncheon event in honor of H.E. Rachid Mohammed Rachid. The event took place at the US Chamber’s most prominent ballroom, the Hall of Flags, and was attended by several hundred US business and foreign policy leaders. Tom Donohue, President of the US Chamber, gave the opening remarks for the event. Dr. Taher Helmy also welcomed the guests, and spoke of the latest reforms Egypt has undertaken. Minister Rachid gave a well-received speech on the need to increase commercial and trade activities between Egypt and the US. Additionally, the Minister took several questions from the audience ranging widely in topics from Egypt’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to pharmaceutical concerns relating to IPR.

• The AmCham delegation hosted a luncheon briefing for senior staffers from the House International Relations Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Dr. Taher Helmy gave a presentation to the group, which was followed by a Q & A session. Issues discussed included the benefits of the QIZ, and the future of FTA negotiations.

• On the Senate side, AmCham also hosted a luncheon briefing for senior staffers from the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This meeting had excellent attendance, and included the staff directors of each Committee and their counterparts from each party. Dr. Taher Helmy gave a thorough presentation on the latest reforms in Egypt, and a discussion ensued about Egypt’s priorities in the WTO, and how to align Egypt’s interests with the US.

Another important part of this Doorknock mission was expanded outreach to think tanks and policy centers, which took place in the form of several events:

• Members of the delegation attended a luncheon discussion with the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Strategy Group.

• Two AmCham members made presentations in a conference on the energy sector in North Africa hosted by the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise and the United States Egypt Friendship Society.

• Judith Kipper of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Washington office hosted a breakfast briefing for the AmCham delegation, at which Dr. Taher Helmy made a presentation on the status of reforms in Egypt.

• The Institute for International Economics (IIE) hosted a major event to commemorate the publication of the second phase of an IIE study entitled “U.S.-Egypt Free Trade Agreement.” Dr. Taher Helmy spoke at the event, where he joined H.E. Minister Rachid, Dr. Ahmed Galal, and Dr. Robert Z. Lawrence in on the benefits and challenges of an Egypt-US FTA.

The level of interest in our visit was high, reflecting the strong interest in Middle East issues among policymakers in Washington. Despite the fact that Congress was in town for only three days of our visit, and was extremely busy with hearings related to President Bush’s annual budget request, 48Members of Congress still made time in their schedules to meet with us. Similarly, senior officials in the Administration seemed eager to hear our perspective on developments in Egypt and the broader Middle East.

The timing of our visit was important, especially in light of the concerns being expressed about Egypt over issue of democratization. We were able in many of meetings to shed light on and bring a new perspective to developments in Egypt. As representatives of the private sector, and as vocal advocates for economic reform and an open economy, we expressed our support for a strong U.S.-Egyptian relationship and the necessity that it be a relationship based on cooperation and engagement, not conflict and pressure.

We described the growing sense of optimism and empowerment in Egypt, and gave specific examples to indicate that the trends in both the economic and political arenas are positive. We noted the linkage between economic and political reform, and pointed out that Egypt’s recent economic success has helped to create an environment conducive to political reforms. This was our first visit to Washington since the appointment of Egypt’s new cabinet, and we took the opportunity to explain the significance of these “new faces” in Egyptian government. Many of the Ministers were selected from the private sector, giving Egypt a government economic team that is committed to coordinating its policies with the business community. We emphasized that the Prime Minister of Egypt was the youngest member of the outgoing Cabinet, the former Minister of CIT, and an advocate for the voice of the private sector. We mentioned that during his tenure as Minister of CIT, he was credited with improving public access to technology. Egypt's free internet connectivity plan as well as improving public access that

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