US is Egypt's biggest trade partner, imports 40 percent of textiles

Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohammed Rasheed said that the U.S is Egypt's biggest trading partner, seeing Egyptian-US trade exchange reached US$3.8 billion last year.

The USA market is also the biggest importer of the Egyptian textile products, importing 40 percent of the Egyptian exports.

Rasheed added that all factories have the option to export, their products either within the framework of the QIZ agreement or outside it.

Trade liberalizing policies recently adopted by the government are intended to fully integrate Egypt into the international market, Rasheed said during his speech before the first Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) conference held yesterday in Cairo.

The ministry is keen to reach a free-trade agreement with the USA, he noted, pointing to the ministry's continuous consultations with China, India and Russia to facilitate the entrance of Egyptian products into their respective markets.