Under this four-year USAID project, Nathan Associates helped to reform policy and build capacity in Government of Egypt agencies that manage borders and develop and regulate domestic wholesale and retail markets.

The ultimate objective was to promote economic growth and job creation and reduce poverty by improving the trade environment.

Project counterparts included the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the General Organization for Export and Import Control, the Egyptian Customs Authority, Export Councils, the Internal Trade Development Authority, the Egyptian National Cleaner Production Center, and the foreign trade sector.

Activities produced concrete, timely results that boosted the country’s trade competitiveness and domestic economy. Our experts provided technical advice and training in two areas of reform:

• At the border. To improve executive regulations governing exports and imports, establish a coordinated risk management system for imports, simplify Egypt’s mandatory standards, conclude customs reforms, support reduction in non-tariff measures, and improve the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) at borders, and strengthen public-private dialogue.

• Behind the border. To strengthen the domestic market, these activities aim to improve the regulation of the distribution and retail sectors in order to attract investors and develop domestic value chains, to combat deceptive advertising, to strengthen the food safety system, to improve the application and enforcement of IPR systems, and to improve environmentally sustainable production.

During 2013 and 2014, the project assisted export organizations and their member companies, focusing on the automotive and home textiles sectors with promising results. The project also assisted small and medium enterprises in the processed food and ready-made garment sectors.