The United States is warning that Egypt and Israel may soon be slapped with sanctions that would affect the transfer of technology to these Middle East states.
US officials cited by Middle East Newslink (MENL) said Washington had determined that Israel has ignored repeated appeals to adhere to international agreements that concern intellectual property and other business practices. Such violations, they said, would affect US trade -- particularly in the hi-tech sector -- with the Jewish state.
Such a warning has been relayed by US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk. Indyk said Israel's reputation had been declining because of its failure to adhere to international trade standards.
"Israel's international economic reputation is suffering because of weak law enforcement and other inadequacies that Israelis and their government should not tolerate," Indyk was quoted as telling an Israeli business forum earlier this month.
Israel appears on several lists of countries that fail to meet international business standards, said MENL, adding that one is the priority watch list by the US Trade Representative office.
For the third year in a row, Washington has determined that Israel has failed to stop the widespread pirating of music, computer software films and pharmaceutical products in violation of intellectual property rights.
"Sooner or later, and I suspect sooner, this lack of IPR enforcement is going to negatively impact industries like the hi-tech sector that are key to Israel's economic future," Indyk said.
Another list Israeli appears on is that of countries that fail to cooperate in the prevention of illegal money laundering, added the report.
Israel is also expected to appear on a new State Department list of countries that fail to stop the criminal trafficking in people, said MENL.
US diplomats have urged the business community to lobby the government to enforce Israeli laws that ensure the battle against copyright theft and money laundering.
Egypt also appears on the money laundering list, a move which could endanger the expansion of trade with Washington. In Cairo, Egyptian officials said the government would introduce legislation that would crack down on such practices.
Officials said the government had ordered official agencies and banks to adopt new regulations against the prohibited practice.
Despite government denials, an Egyptian economist told Albawaba.com that the international community was laundering money in the North African country.
“The charges [that money is laundered in Egypt] are like a promotional advertisement among swindlers and smugglers,” the head of the Egyptian Political Economists Society, Ibrahim Al Aisawi, said in response to an international watchdog group’s recent charge that Egypt was not cooperating in the fight against dirty money.
He added that responsibility for the problem lay with the entire international community.
“Money moves both in and out of a country…putting pressure on economic assets and reserves, and…aggravating corruption, which is another problem that should be confronted,” Aisawi said on Saturday.
For his part, banking expert Mohammed Nouriddin confirmed that the Egyptian monetary authorities had created rules and control measures to confront the problem.
“What we need is strict implementation of these rules,’’ said Nouriddin, adding that the most dangerous potential consequence for the national economy was the movement of laundered money in a way he described as “hot money.”
He said “hot money” entered the targeted country and then left, creating confusion in the markets and thereby disrupting them.
Observers say that money laundering in Egypt occurs in the tourism and hospitality sectors, as well as via the stock market – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
