A range of tariff barriers and other measures have been introduced by the Egyptian authorities in order to bolster local economic growth following the political upheavals of the 2011 “Arab Spring”. The country is protecting its automotive sector through the introduction of new tariff barriers, according to the European Commission’s 11th Report on potentially traderestrictive measures released last week. On May 29, 2014, the country introduced 10 new standard specifications on imported cars and spare parts. “These standards have been applied already to locally assembled cars and allegedly aim at preventing the importation of sub-standard vehicles and spare parts, or those not conforming to international standards,” says the report. In May the Egyptian government also stopped the importation of products that have a local equivalent for the purpose of public tenders. Foreign shipping agents are also required to be 51% locally owned in order to retain their licences to conduct shipping activities. A number of deadlines have passed, but “the government continues to renew the licences of foreign shipping companies on an ad-hoc basis, and the 51% Egyptian ownership requirement is effectively not yet in place,” says the report. Further trade restrictions have been introduced through the Importers’ Registrar Law No 121 of 1982, which stipulates that companies wishing to import goods for trading purposes must be Egyptian.
