LEGISLATION WATCH- House Industry Committee wants to raise minimum domestic content needed for anything to qualify as “made in Egypt.” The House of Representatives’ Industry Committee is currently discussing amendments to the Industry Act with eye to providing incentives to increase domestic component requirements for manufacturing, committee chair Ahmed Samir told Amwal Al Ghad earlier this week. While he does not delve into details of the legislation, he did state that the law would be amended to allow those with a domestic component of around 25-55%, depending on the sector, to use the label “made in Egypt.” The legislation, which the committee is shopping around to relevant parties before formally presenting it for discussion in the House, comes as part of a series of legislation MPs hope will promote the domestic manufacturing of production inputs for industries that have traditionally relied on imports as part of their manufacturing processes. The Automotive Directive is looking to set incentives for auto assemblers who source 40% of car components from Egypt in the first year, with an eye to increase the quota in later years. The Public Procurement Act, currently with the House, grants Egyptian products preferential treatment in government contracts as a means of promoting local industry.

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