Import restrictions imposed in December 2015 by the Ismail government and implemented since March have created “an unnecessary barrier to trade,” EU ambassador to Egypt James Moran told Bloomberg. The measures requiring registration of factories exporting to Egypt creates uncertainty for foreign investors, which in turn makes it harder for Egyptian companies to sell to EU markets, he added. Egypt and the EU have been involved in talks since their implementation, he says, hoping the matter can be resolved before reaching the World Trade Organization’s dispute panel. CBE Governor Tarek Amer had said in January that the measures could curb “unnecessary imports” by USD 20 bn in 2016. “I think when the results of all this are better known, maybe towards the end of the year or before that, perhaps they will realize they were misguided,” said Moran. “This isn’t the way to solve shortage of foreign exchange.” This is the second time in a month that Moran has called out the export registry, having urged Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil to scrap it late last month. His statements then followed reports that trading partners including the EU and Turkey might file a complaint with the WTO over the registry, which the ministry denied.

Kabil’s response came swiftly: “We will not turn back on the export registry,” The registry and other import restrictions imposed this year are acceptable under international trade agreements, Al Borsa reports Kabil as saying. Egypt has the same right to protect itself from foreign imports as the EU, the ministry said: “The registry is mostly populated by European factories anyway,” he added.