In 2004, Egypt signed the Agadir Agreement with Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. This agreement removes all trade tariffs between them and harmonizes their rules on product standards and customs. In June 2013, the EU and Egypt started discussions on how to deepen their trade and investment relations through a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). The main objective of the Agreement (Objectives, Article 1) is to liberalise trade in goods in accordance with Article XXIV of the GATT in 1994. By January 1, 2020, tariffs on almost all industrial products will be eliminated. Originally, the system was based on a network of free trade agreements with individual origin protocols. These agreements, which are part of the instruments for the creation of the free trade area (Article 4(d)), provide for tariff concessions. The Agreement applies to trade in fish and other seafood products (Article 4(c) and Annex II). The EFTA States grant duty-free access to imports of all Egyptian fishery products. As regards EFTA exports to Egypt, the Agreement provides for a reduction in customs duties under the quotas from the entry into force of the Agreement.
Quotas for certain products shall be abolished six years after the entry into force of the Agreement. The Contracting Parties shall provide for the complete elimination of customs duties on all fish and seafood products within fourteen years of the entry into force of the Agreement. In addition, Egypt has signed several bilateral agreements with Arab countries: Jordan (December 1999), Lebanon (March 1999), Libya (January 1991), Morocco (April 1999), Syria (December 1991) and Tunisia (March 1999). In addition, Egypt and China concluded a trade agreement in 1995. Egypt has also signed an economic agreement with Russia. In June 2001, Egypt signed an Association Agreement with the European Union (EU), which entered into force on 1 June 2004. The agreement provided for immediate duty-free access for Egyptian products to EU markets, while duty-free access for EU products was progressive over a twelve-year period. In 2010, Egypt and the EU concluded an agricultural annex to their free trade agreement and liberalized trade in more than 90% of agricultural products. Meanwhile, the US has negotiated an agreement between Egypt and Israel to establish a “skilled industrial zone” between the two countries, which has angered both Egyptians and their Arab neighbors. In 2009, U.S. and Egyptian trade officials under the Obama administration signed a strategic partnership plan that committed to “a program of enhanced cooperation between the United States and Egypt on economic, trade, and investment.”