VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHEG #2545 3570950
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 220950Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1197
INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 1817
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS CAIRO 002545
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR NEA/ELA
TREASURY FOR BRYAN BALIN AND FRANCISCO PARODI
WHITE HOUSE FOR USTR- SONIA FRANCESKI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV PGOV PREL EG IS
SUBJECT: FOUR EGYPTIAN COMPANIES LOSE QIZ ELIGIBILITY
REF: 08 CAIRO 2410
1. (U) The Government of Egypt has publicly announced that
four Egyptian companies have had their eligibility to export
under the Qualifying Industrial Zone (QIZ) protocol
suspended. The companies suspended are The Misr Company for
Industrial and Textile Investments, The International Textile
House of Egypt, The Egyptian Company for Dyeing and Trading
(Azghaltex), and El Nenaiae Company for Industries and
Trading. Each of these companies was suspended from QIZ
program eligibility for three months as a result of
non-compliance with the QIZ protocol. The first three did
not meet the 10.5% Israeli content requirement and the last
did not submit QIZ documentation.
2. (U) The QIZ Joint Committee agreed to these suspensions
during its quarterly meeting held in Cairo last month
(reftel). Each company is excluded from QIZ eligibility from
November 23, 2008 to February 14, 2009. Further violations
would carry penalties of 6 and 12 month suspensions. The
three companies that had supplied documentation exported just
under $112,000 to the U.S. under the QIZ program in the
second quarter, a negligible amount of the $206 million in
total QIZ exports to the U.S. during that period.
3. (U) The GOE released notice of the suspensions to the
press as well as via updates to the Egyptian QIZ website
(www.qizegypt.gov.eg/Data QualifiedCompanies.aspx).
SCOBEY