Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry Charles Julien Legal Counsel The Mediterranean and Globalisation: An Egyptian Perspective The Global Market Revolution: The Impact of the World Trade Organization on Local Players Naples, 24 November 2007

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry The multilateral trading system – the WTO Agreements 151 Members All Euro-Mediterranean partners with the exception of Algeria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria Scope +Trade in goods +Trade in services +Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights + Integrated dispute settlement mechanism Regular re-negotiations: on-going Doha Development Agenda 1 Multilateral vs. regional trade agreements

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry Most-favored nation (MFN) treatment: a founding principle of the multilateral trading system WTO Members cannot discriminate between other WTO Members – equal treatment must be provided to all 2 Multilateral vs. regional trade agreements Regional trade agreements (RTAs): an exception to MFN treatment Parties to a RTA may remove or substantially reduce duties and trade barriers between themselves The establishment of a RTA should not impose additional restrictions on the Members not party to that RTA

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry The proliferation of RTAs within the multilateral trading system 380 RTAs notified under the GATT/WTO 250 RTAs in force Main characteristics +Centerpiece of countries commercial policy +Increasing level of sophistication +North-South RTAs gradually replace non-reciprocal systems of preferences – South-South RTAs + Expansion and integration of regional integration 3 Multilateral vs. regional trade agreements

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 37 trading partners The European Union and its 27 Member States; and 10 Mediterranean partners: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey 4 Economic and Trade Features of the Euro-Mediterranean (Euromed) Region 740 million citizens Growing trade relations Mediterranean exports to the EU-27 have grown 10% yearly over the period (Egypt and Algeria: 17%) EU exports to Mediterranean partners have grown 4% yearly Relatively low integration: 5% of total EU-27 trade

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry The Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs – Barcelona, 27-28/11/ The Barcelona Declaration: the Foundation of the Euro- Mediterranean Partnership Objectives of the Euromed Partnership Political and security chapter: common area of peace through political and security dialogue Economic and financial chapter: economic and financial partnership and the establishment of a free trade Social, cultural and human chapter: exchanges between civil societies and better understanding of people A two-dimension process: bilateral and regional

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 6 Bilateral Agreements within the Euromed Partnership Agreements between the EU and Mediterranean partners Cooperation agreements concluded in the 1970s Euromed Association Agreements – Main features: + Establishment of a free-trade area by Provisions relating to intellectual property, services, public procurement and competition +Economic cooperation +Cooperation relating to social affairs and migration +Cultural cooperation +Political dialogue +Respect for human rights and democracy

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 7 Bilateral Agreements within the Euromed Partnership The trade component of Euromed Association Agreements + Liberalization of the trade of manufactured goods -duty free access for imports of manufactured goods from Mediterranean partners into the EU -tariff dismantlement of tariffs for imports of manufactured goods from the EU into Mediterranean partners into the EU + Asymmetric reciprocal preferences for agricultural products +Progressive liberalization of trade in services +Progressive liberalization of investment policies

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 8 Bilateral Agreements within the Euromed Partnership Agreements between the Egypt and Mediterranean partners Jordan – free-trade agreement - 21/12/1999Lebanon – executive program - 15/3/1999 Morocco – free-trade agreement - 28/4/1999 Syria – preferential trade agreement - 1/12/1991 Tunisia – free-trade agreement - 26/4/2007 Turkey – free-trade agreement - 1/3/2007

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 9 Regional Agreements within the Euromed Partnership The Agadir Agreement Concluded between Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia on 22/2/2004 Main features: + Establishment of a free-trade – elimination of all tariff and non-tariff barriers on industrial and agricultural products +Diagonal cumulation of origin The Arab Maghreb Union

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 10 Egypt and the Euromed Partnership EU Agadir Agreement Turkey Syria EFTA Lebanon Jordan Tunisia MoroccoEgypt Maghreb Union Libya Algeria Mauritania UAE Saudi Arabia Qatar Oman Barhein GCC Iran Iraq GAFTA Israel Palestinian Authority

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry Pan-Euromed system of cumulation of origin Harmonized rules of origin apply to the 40 Members of the Pan-Euromed system (Euromed partners + EFTA Members) Allows economic operators to cumulate processing made in different Euromed partners and thus obtain preferential treatment more easily 11 Regional Integration within the Euromed Partnership Trade facilitation Actual cost of trade procedures: 5% of transactions Action Plan on Trade and Investment Facilitation: +Simplification of customs procedures +Accelerated customs clearance +Use of the Harmonized System and international standards

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry Convergence of legislation in the field of standards Identification of priority sectors Approximation of EU rules and standards EU-funded technical assistance and training programs – Euromed Market and Euromed Quality 12 Regional Integration within the Euromed Partnership Liberalization of services and investment – Core principles Compatibility with WTO rules Regional integration Development dimension

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry Liberalization of services and establishment Bilateral negotiations Transparency and regional cooperation Expected to be concluded by On-Going Negotiations within the Euromed Partnership: Towards a Euromed Free Trade Area Integrated dispute settlement mechanism Bilateral negotiations with regional consultations Dispute settlement protocols to efficiently settle trade disputes arising under the Association Agreements Greatly inspired from the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry Deepening agriculture liberalization – The Rabat Euromed Roadmap for Agriculture Negotiations with Egypt, Israel and Morocco Liberalization of agricultural, processed and fisheries products 14 On-Going Negotiations within the Euromed Partnership: Towards a Euromed Free Trade Area Regulatory convergence on industrial products Negotiations of an agreement on conformity assessment and accreditation Further implementation of EU legislation and standards

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 15 Future Steps towards a Euromed Free Trade Area The 6th Euromed Ministerial Conference – Lisbon, 21/10/2207 Confirmation of the overall objective: establishment of a Euromed Free Trade Area by 2010 Senior Officials Working Group to consider: +Non-tariff barriers +Intellectual property rights +Competition +Public procurement Important contributions of the business community – first meeting to take place in Egypt in early 2008

Arab Republic of Egypt - Ministry of Trade and Industry 16 Towards Greater Regional Integration The European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) EUs framework for its relations with Mediterranean and East European partners (Maghreb, Mashrek, Israel, Ukraine and Moldova)Country-specific action plans The Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA)Participate to the establishment of a Common Arab Market Free trade agreement between Egypt and EFTA states