Cairo, November 3, 2008

Ambassador Scobey today delivered the keynote address at the Generalized System of Preferences Conference hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce. The conference’s objective was to raise awareness amongst the Egyptian business community of opportunities for exporting goods and services to the United States duty free under the Generalized System of Preferences.

Ambassador Scobey:
“Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for inviting me to be here. Hisham, Tom and Denise, all of our friends at the American Chamber and colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and other elements of the government of Egypt and friends in the business community here. I really do want to thank the American Chamber for hosting this conference to promote the use of our Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, by Egyptian exporters. It is truly a pleasure to be here as you start this effort today to expand knowledge and ideas on how to fully utilize this preference that Egypt is eligible for.

I would also like to welcome and thank Marideth Sandler, the U.S. Government's expert on GSP from the United States Trade Representatives' Office, for her willingness to come here and to get back in time for the elections. It’s an exciting time in the United States so it’s especially nice that she would come here to work with us on these issues. I know she had a successful visit to Minia, and I hope that you will be able to identify additional ways to make use of our GSP system to promote trade with the United States from Egypt.

Despite turbulent economic times, we know that increased trade can bring many benefits to developing, as well as developed countries. In the case of Egypt, we believe this includes a deepening and broadening of our bilateral trade and investment relationship. For the United States, supporting international economic development is more than just an expression of our compassion. It is a vital investment in the free, prosperous, and peaceful international order that fundamentally serves our national interests. And an important part of this is trade. Global trade is the life-blood of the planet. We are all interconnected, none of us stands alone. I can assure you that no matter what happens, either in our presidential elections or on the economic front, the United States will continue to promote open markets and open investment as the surest means of advancing both U.S. and global economic growth. The pursuit of global trade will continue to be a key aspect of the United States’ view of the world. It is simply too important to all of us to neglect.

In the face of financial problems and the possibility of a global economic slowdown, we must all continue to work together to restore the confidence of consumers and investors. In a world of growing economic and political interdependence, this requires the credible demonstration of international cooperation. Strengthening international trade is a vital ingredient of confidence building. It will facilitate the global economic recovery, and decrease the risk of fragmentation among nations.

It is important for us all to keep in mind an important fact: the United States is currently Egypt's single largest trading partner. In 2007, our two nations conducted a record $7.9 billion dollars worth of business together, a seventy-five percent increase in just three years. We consider trade relations an important element of our strategic bilateral relationship, and one that benefits both the U.S. and Egypt. So far in 2008 the growth has continued; the first quarter figures have shown an increase of 19% in bilateral trade. In Egypt we are firmly on the path from aid to trade and the achievements, so far, are staggering. The United States buys 33% of everything Egypt exports to the world. In 2007, Egypt was the 62nd largest exporter to the U.S. out of 233 countries. In the last ten years, Egypt’s exports to the U.S. increased by 262%, while Egyptian textile exports, specifically, increased by 400% percent.
Business people have always been faced with the task of overcoming challenges to be successful in international markets, and these challenges in today’s increasingly competitive international environment are still considerable. By providing a relatively low-tariff import market for manufactured goods from developing countries, the United States contributes to export-led growth and development in these countries. U.S. imports in 2007 from developing countries, not including China, were $641 billion. The United States also continues to be the world's largest importer of goods and services ($573 billion in 2007-- $981 billion in imports minus $409 billion in exports).

As business people, I know you are looking for new opportunities, new markets, new customers. Despite the financial turmoil everyone is talking about, I hope that you will continue to look for new business opportunities with the United States. The U.S. is committed to its role as an economic partner for Egypt and other emerging markets, and as a government, we are also committed to promoting trade and investment through a range of programs and mechanisms. Today’s conference is part of our initiative to further boost our trade and investment relationship

Congress created the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program in 1974, with broad bipartisan support, to expand the choices of American industry and consumers while creating economic opportunities in developing countries. The GSP program provides preferential duty-free treatment for well over 3,000 products from 134 developing countries and territories. In 1996, an additional 1,450 articles were made eligible for duty-free treatment. Total U.S. imports under GSP in 2006 were $32.6 billion, an increase of 22 percent over 2005. The combined GSP-eligible product lists include most dutiable manufactures and semi-manufactures, and some agricultural, fishery, and primary industrial products.

This program demonstrates our commitment to a strong, vibrant, bilateral trade relationship and is really but one example of U.S. government initiatives to promote trade. Others include the Qualified Industrial Zones, U.S. trade and development grants, and the bilateral investment treaty, which is a concrete example of the U.S. commitment to a strong U.S. and Egyptian economic partnership and to a prosperous Egypt and, hopefully, to a prosperous America. I can assure you that we will continue to look for new ways to enhance and promote this relationship. Nothing is every finished in the world of business, investment, and trade; we are always trying to do more.
With the knowledge and support of public and private sector organizations such as those represented here today, we can help businesses realize their growth aspirations by helping them gain access to the U.S. market and expanding their export opportunities.

Thank you again for inviting me to join you at this conference today, and for allowing me to speak to you and for being such fine partners with U.S. business. I look forward to learning of the outcomes of the conference and I hope that at the end of this that our business partners here in Egypt will have identified new possibilities for expanding your exports to the U.S. and taking advantage of a program that has been around for a long time, but may not have been fully utilized by the business community of Egypt. So thank you very much for coming and I hope this contributes to your ability to export to the U.S.”