CAIRO: Talks between the Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and the US Deputy Secretary of Commerce David Sampson have underlined the deep difference between the US and Egypt over the proposed bilateral free trade agreement. The free trade talks between the US and Egypt were suspended in mid-2006 for political disagreements.
Sampson said in Cairo Monday that the US administration hopes to push forward free trade talks with Egypt when the US Congress renews the president’s negotiating mandate to pursue free trade talks by mid-2007.
In a press conference with Rachid in Cairo, Sampson added that President Bush is strongly committed to establishing a free trade zone in the region, including Egypt, which is a vital partner in the Middle East.
But the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry argued that the time was not yet ripe to resume free trade talks with the US. He pointed out that the US administration was still insisting on its political pre-requisites that would diverge away from the trade and business arena.
Rashid, meanwhile, boasted that trade between Egypt and the US surged 30 percent to $6 billion in 2006 compared with a year earlier.
The US Deputy Secretary of Commerce said a delegation from the US Department of State would arrive in Cairo on Friday to discuss US potential assistance to the Egyptian peaceful nuclear program.
