Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Qabil issued a decree to create a record at the General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC) that will register the eligibility of foreign factories based in Egypt to export products that have been manufactured in Egypt.
Qabil said products from these companies will be allowed entry into the domestic Egyptian market only if they are produced by factories registered in the record. The minister has the right to issue decisions for registration, write-off, or any exemption from registration requirements.
The decree sets conditions for registration in the record, including that the factory’s legal representative or the trademark owner must submit the application for registration and a copy of the factory’s licence. In addition, companies must provide the certificate of legal status for the factory and the produced product, as well as the trademark of the products.
Conditions also include providing a certificate stating that the factory implements quality control of factory emissions in alignment with environmental standards and pledges commitment to International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards and international treaties regulating labour rights. The certificate should be issued from an agency recognised by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) or from any Egyptian government entity or a foreign entity approved by the Minister of Industry.
Furthermore, the factory is required to provide approval of inspection by a technical team to ensure that environmental and safety standards are met.
The decree will enter into force after two months after the date of its publication in Al-Waqa’i’a al- Masriya, the official state gazette, Qabil said.
The minister noted that the decision is part of the ministry’s efforts to ensure the quality of imported products to guard the health of the Egyptian consumer, on one hand, and protect the local industry from unfair competition from low-quality imported products, on the other hand.
Qabil pointed out that there is no conflict between these decisions and Egypt’s commitments towards the World Trade Organization (WTO), where many countries take similar measures to protect their domestic market from harmful practices in imported products.
