Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry, Mahmud Eissa, said that they could not cancel the Qualifying Industrial Zones agreement (QIZ), as it would affect Egypt's economic situation and could destroy the textile industry. The QIZ establishes zones that can export to the United States duty-free. He added that Egypt can import raw materials from other countries that are not members in QIZ, while the exporter country will not enjoy the advantages that the agreement provides to Egypt. Eissa added that his ministry is looking into to reducing the Israeli component to less than 10 percent due to the dire economic conditions since the January 25 Revolution. He added that Jordan managed to reduce the Israeli component to 8.5 percent last year. Chairman of Industries Union, Galal al-Zorba, said that cancelling the QIZ would negatively affect Egypt's economy and destroy Egyptian products' ability to compete in different industries. He added that if the government cancels the QIZ, it should sign a free-trade agreement with the U.S. to replace it. Zorba stressed that the Egyptian government should take into account the political considerations of U.S.-Egyptian relations while studying the issue. Zorba blamed insecurity and demonstrations for harming investments in Egypt. He added that foreign investments fled from Egyptian markets due to increasing economic and security fears. He added that restoring security and stability are the main conditions to improve the economic situation of the country. He said that the union works to deal with current tariffs problems.
