Back to the complete issue
Monday, 3 July 2017

The Walt Disney Company lifts ban on having its merchandise manufactured in Egypt

The Walt Disney Company has lifted a ban on having its merchandise manufactured in Egypt, Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil announced on Sunday. Disney had instituted the ban in February after a drop in Egypt’s ratings in “worldwide governance indicators and the country not joining the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Better Work Programme,” according to Ahram Online. The ban’s lifting follows negotiations between the company and the Egyptian government, which started March.

Egypt will begin implementing the ILO’s Better Work Programme, which pushes its own labor standards for industry, following the ban, Kabil added. The program — which will be implemented across two stages through to next year — will also provide several services to clothes export chains, including an assessment of factories, consultancy services and training.

It appears that Egypt’s economic “Cinderella story” also helped bring Disney back to the fold, as Kabil also proclaimed Egypt’s improved credit scores and economic reforms in coordination with the IMF and World Bank had helped bring about this change of heart. We had been noting that these talks may have involved Israel — when Disney reportedly halted imports of textile exporters under the Qualified Industrial Zones agreement — and the US, during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to the US in April.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.