Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Tareq Qabil said that non-oil exports to the US witnessed a significant growth during the period from January to November 2017.
In fact, Egypt's non-oil exports rose by almost 18 percent to reach about $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion during the same period in 2016, according to the latest report received by the Minister from the Egyptian Economic and Commercial Office in Washington.
Qabil pointed out that non-oil exports accounted for about 90 percent of the total Egyptian exports to the US.
He announced in a press statement that Egypt and the US are keen to promote economic and trade cooperation in various fields to serve both the Egyptian and US economies and to overcome all obstacles that may face the trade flow between the two countries.
Qabil referred to ongoing negotiations on the Framework Agreement on Trade and Investment with the US (TIFA), which is a major tool to remove all obstacles facing trade between the two sides and to facilitate the flow of intra-regional trade. The TIFA will contribute to a breakthrough in the level of economic relations between Egypt and the US soon, he noted.
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The increase in Egypt's exports to the US is due to the efforts of the Egyptian Commercial Office in Washington to facilitate the access of Egyptian products to the US and to make the maximum use of the bilateral trade agreements signed between Egypt and the US, Ahmed Antar, Undersecretary of the Trade and Industry Ministry, said.
Egypt's exports include textiles and ready-made garments worth $832 million, iron and steel worth $95.5 million, fertilizers worth $79.4 million, salt and sulfur worth $34.6 million, and paper and cardboard worth $30.4 million, Antar added.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
