The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) has reviewed the draft law currently proposed to parliament in its first meeting with the Egyptian Union for Investors Associations (EUIA), chaired by Mohamed Farid Khamis. The meeting was attended by Muharram Hilal, deputy chairperson of the EUIA and its board of directors. It was held at the EUIA headquarters. CPA chairperson Atef Yacoub said that many subjects were reviewed during the meeting, most importantly the new consumer protection act draft law currently presented to parliament. He added that the two sides discussed cooperating to control the market, including a proposal to price commodities during trading phases to crack down on price manipulators. Yacoub stressed the need to impose standards on Egyptian products during different phases of production and sales to protect consumers' right guaranteed by the law. Moreover, the meeting also discussed the role of the CPA in protecting manufacturers and investors by combating counterfeit and defective goods, which would harm the health and safety of Egyptian consumers, and damage the national economy. Yacoub said that the new law includes provisions that grant Egyptian investors fair competition rights. He stressed the need to stop trading Egyptian products if they were proven to be damaged, which would raise the confidence of consumers in the Egyptian industry, counter trademark counterfeiting, and stop random maintenance centres that claim to be agents for certain brands. He went on explaining that the meeting also discussed the importance of tracking goods to monitor counterfeit products, and thus, combat the phenomenon of commercial fraud and the importance of the role of e-commerce in bringing prices down through reducing the size of the trading chain. Yacoub also noted that the CPA does not fight investors or merchants, but rather all harmful practices in the market that may cause damage to the rights of consumers, manufacturers, and dealers. He called upon Egyptian companies under the auspices of the EUIA to prepare a printed list of names and contacts of authorised dealerships and certified maintenance centres to avoid problems facing consumers. The CPA head called on the EUIA to complete a study to price products in the production phase, which would protect manufacturers from stores overpricing their products.
