Egypt: Liberalization of the customs dollar aims to encourage industry

CAIRO - Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maat said on Sunday that the aim of the decision to liberalize the dollar's customs price on imports of some goods is to encourage local industry and maintain employment.

The minister said on Friday that Egypt would end the work on the dollar, the customs duty on imports of recreational goods and unnecessary in December.

The customs dollar is the fee paid by the importer in local currency equivalent to the dollar fees imposed on him for the release of goods imported and detained at customs.

The Egyptian Minister of Finance said at a press conference today that finished goods will be subject to the free customs dollar. The list of goods to which the price announced by the Central Bank will be reviewed monthly "to monitor any inflationary effects."

"We support and encourage local industry and respect all our international conventions," he said. "Finished goods that have a local equivalent will be subject to the free tariff rate. Those who manufacture or assemble must give it a competitive advantage."

He added that the ministry must protect the Egyptian manufacturer, which provides jobs for Egyptians.

Fluctuations and liabilities
Since the liberalization of the exchange rate in November 2016, there have been fluctuations, he said, prompting the ministry to adopt the dollar-customs mechanism to stabilize commodity prices at a time when markets were not stable.

He pointed out that the time has come to review the dollar's customs policy to protect the national industry and make appropriate decisions for the national economy.

Egypt began setting a fixed monthly rate for the dollar in January last year after the liberalization of the pound in November 2016.

The minister said in a statement on Friday that as of December 1, the price of the customs dollar will remain on strategic and essential goods at 16 pounds, while the price of the customs dollar will be determined for non-essential goods at the average prices set by the central bank during the previous month.

For his part, the Chairman of the Tax and Customs Committee in the Federation of Industries Mohamed Al-Bahi, the new decision in the right, and stressed that it will limit imports and support manufacturing, as reported by Egyptian newspapers today.