The U.S. Embassy in Egypt, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt sponsored an outreach event discussing Standards and Technical Regulations for the U.S. Automotive Industry for interested parties from the Egyptian and Moroccan governments and vehicle/parts manufacturers. A delegation of standards and automotive experts from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Transportation and organizations representing American automotive and automotive parts industries were present to discuss U.S. automotive standards and regulatory processes in the context of international regulations. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information to the Egyptian and Moroccan governments on the U.S. vehicle regulatory process and to encourage the import of vehicles designed to U.S. standards. Automotive standards experts described standards development in the United States and discussed international standards harmonization efforts. The exclusive adoption of EU standards in Egypt would have a damaging effect on automotive parts manufacturers in Egypt and their local Egyptian parts suppliers. Ann Bacher, Commercial Counselor of the U.S. Embassy remarked, "The U.S. Embassy appreciates the interest from the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade's Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) to understand better U.S. Automotive Standards. Our U.S. automotive companies believe that by allowing U.S. standards alongside of EU standards in the Egyptian market, they will have more incentive to invest in Egypt and be better set to increase exports of Egyptian made or assembled automotive products." Reconciling U.S. automotive standards with Egyptian market regulations was a key focus of the roundtable. Representatives of the Government of Egypt's Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade's Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS), General Traffic Authority, General Authority for Roads and Bridges, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and General Organization for Export and Import Control as well as private sector companies were in attendance.
