Tuesday, December 14, 2004

  • Tuesday, December 14, 2004
  • Elder of Ziyon
CAIRO, Egypt -- Egypt's coming trade agreement with Israel and the United States is stirring a debate in Egypt, with business executives saying it could create 250,000 jobs in a year and politicians saying it favors Israel.

As part of an accord scheduled to be signed Tuesday in Cairo, goods produced in certain areas in Egypt with a minimum Israeli content will gain tariff-free access to the United States. The deal is one of several moves that signal hopes of reviving the Mideast peace process after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last month.

The secretary-general of Egypt's Ready-Made Garment Exporters Association, Magdy Tolba, and the vice chairman of the Chamber of Textile Industries, Mohammed Kassim, said the agreement should give such a boost to clothing manufacturers that they will hire 200,000 to 300,000 workers in the first 12 months after it is implemented early next year.

Many jobs will come from the use of idle capacity, as Egyptian manufacturers have lost American orders to competitors in Jordan and sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, Kassim said. Other jobs will depend on new investment.

The agreement applies to all goods produced within designated areas, and the makers of furniture, electrical and leather products are expected to take advantage.

But clothes and textiles are Egypt's No. 1 export commodity, and 42 percent of the revenue comes from the United States.

AddToAny

EoZ Book:"Protocols: Exposing Modern Antisemitism"

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Hasbys!

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 19 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

subscribe via email

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Blog Archive