Egypt - Important news concerning payments and export of some goods

We have received two important pieces of news from Cairo. They are as follows

01/26/2016

1) beginning from 1st January 2016, restrictive measures regarding payments to foreign Countries have been put into place, i.e. only payments “against documents” and documentary credits (letter of credit) will be accepted;

2) with Ministerial Decree No 992 dated 30th Dec 2015, the Egyptian Government decided to create a register for the factories qualified to export some products to Egypt. That is to say, to export to Egypt the products enclosed to the decree, the foreign factories shall before register in the aforementioned register. The Ministerial Decree comes into force on 1st March 2016.

The products subject to preliminary registration are as follows:

- Milk and milk products put up for retail sale;
- Preserved and dried fruits put up for retail sale;
- Oils and fats put up for retail sale;
- Chocolate and food preparations containing cocoa put up for retail sale;
- Sugar confectionery;
- Pastries and food preparations of cereals, bread and bakery products;
- Fruit juices put up for retail sale;
- Natural, mineral and soda water;
- Makeup, cosmetics, oral and dental care products, deodorants, toiletries and perfume preparations;
- Soap and surfactants intended for use as soap, put up for retail sale;
- Floor coverings;
- Tableware, cutlery and kitchenware;
- Bathtubs, sinks, wash basins, toilets, toilet seats and covers thereof;
- Toilet paper, cosmetic paper, diapers and towels;
- Blocks, squared tiles and tiles for home use;
- Table glassware;
- Reinforced iron;
- Home appliances (stoves, fryers, air-conditioners, fans, washing machines, blenders, heaters);
- Home and office furniture;
- Regular bicycles, motorbikes and motorized bikes;
- Watches;
- Lighting devices for home use;
- Toys;
- Clothing, textiles, furnishing fabrics, carpets, blankets and footwear.

Herewith, we send you enclosed a copy of the Egyptian decree of 30th Dec 2016 No 992 in English, as well as our free translation into Italian.

Decreto Originale
Decreto tradotto

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05/13/2025US duties on Chinese productsupdate to 13 May 2025

Following the agreements made with China, the US President issued an Executive Order modifying the duties on Chinese, Hong Kong and Macao products.

To become effective, the order must be published in the Federal Register, but we can still summarise its contents:

- for goods released for consumption in the US as of 12:01 a.m. (EST time) on 14 May 2025, the additional duty for Chinese products is reduced from 125% to 10%

- unless there is an agreement between the United States and China, the additional duty will increase from 10% to 34% after 90 days (also from 12:01 a.m. EST on 14 May 2025);

- the additional duty is in addition to any duties already in place.

The measure speaks of “provenance” and not “origin” of the goods, which seems anomalous to say the least, since it concerns duties; it is to be hoped that clarity will be provided on this point when it is published in the Federal Register.