Are FTAs keeping local industry from benefiting from the current economic conditions?

Are trade agreements keeping local industry from benefiting from the current economic conditions? Mohamed Abdel Shafie Eissa seems to think so, saying in a column penned for Al Shorouk that the EGP’s low value and the decision to bar imports of low-quality goods should have been a godsend for local industry and allowed it to boom over the past couple of years. Alluding to the automotive sector (and the drama with the EU over the proposed automotive directive), he says the stipulations of some trade agreements run counter to the interests of local industry. Eissa also takes a moment to point a finger of blame at sky-high interest rates, saying they have only further hampered the rise of domestic manufacturing.