Egyptian-Turkish trade agreement comes under fire

A member of the Egyptian parliament called for the need to reconsider the free trade agreement between Egypt and Turkey signed 15 years ago, claiming that it harms Egyptian interests and favors Turkish exporters.
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad bin Amin Madani (L), Foreign Ministers Sameh Shoukry of Egypt and Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey (R) attend the 13th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit at Istanbul Congress Center (ICC) on April 14, 2016 in Istanbul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday hosts over 30 heads of state and government from Islamic countries in Istanbul for a major summit aimed at overcoming differences in the Muslim world. / AFP / P
Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad bin Amin Madani (L), Foreign Ministers Sameh Shoukry of Egypt and Mevlut Cavusoglu of Turkey (R) attend the 13th OIC Summit at the Istanbul Congress Center, Turkey, April 14, 2016. - Sebnem Coskun/AFP via Getty Images
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Hagar Hosny
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CAIRO — In the presence of Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevin Gamea during a parliament session Feb. 2, Hafez Omran, a member of the parliamentary Industry Committee, called for the need to reconsider the free trade agreement between Egypt and Turkey, stating that such an agreement is to the detriment rather than in the interest of Egypt.

“Turkish goods enter Egypt as per the 'zero customs' agreement. Turkish exporters to Egypt are granted export subsidies from Turkey of about 19%, with the aim of exporting products to the Egyptian market at prices less than the manufacturing cost, which affects the Egyptian industry in terms of its competitiveness,” Omran said.

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