Israel’s Defense Ministry is granting fewer export licenses to the country’s spyware companies amid mounting pressure from the U.S., according to an April 25 report from Globes, an Israeli business news site. The report said Israeli company Nemesis was forced to shut down last month after the country’s Defense Export Control Agency refused to grant it export licenses, and other industry executives have complained about an “abrupt change in policy” toward companies exporting spyware. Other companies -- including NSO Group, Cognyte, QuaDream and Wintego -- are on a “short list” of businesses that have struggled in recent months from a “lack of approvals for new deals and cancellation of export permits that have expired,” the report said.
Egypt recently suspended imports from more than 800 companies after they failed to comply with an Egyptian decree that requires registration of certain production facilities, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported April 29. Under the decree, certain imported products -- including dairy products, oils, fruits, textiles and household appliances -- can be released in Egypt only if their manufacturing facilities are registered with the country’s General Organization for Import and Export Control. The import ban was applied to companies in the U.S., United Arab Emirates, the U.K., China, Germany, Turkey, France, Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy, Malaysia and South Korea, the report said.
Morocco recently added certain textiles to its list of products that require a certificate of conformity before they can be imported, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported April 27. Traders will have to show the certificate when the goods arrive for customs clearance, the report said. Goods subject to the requirement include clothing textiles, including silk, linen, certain cotton fabrics, lace and terry cloth. Importers can still bring those goods into Morocco without a certificate until May 7.
The Democratic Republic of Congo became the seventh member of the East African Community, the trade bloc announced March 29. The DRC is expected to see substantial trade benefits after its accession to the EAC is officially ratified April 14, including lower tariffs, less trade restrictions among EAC member countries and more free movement of goods, EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki said. Adding it also expands the territory and reach of the EAC, benefitting other members as well.
The Suez Canal Authority recently raised toll surcharges for most vessels, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported March 28. Laden and ballast vessels will face surcharges from 5% to 10%, HKTDC said, and bulk carriers, crude oil carriers and petroleum tankers will face a 5% tariff increase. In addition, the SCA will impose an additional 7% fee on liquefied natural gas tankers, roll-on/roll-off vessels, special floating units, general cargo ships and others, and a 10% surcharge on certain northbound and southbound chemical and other liquid bulk tankers, the report said. Additional fees will be levied on the “number of tiers of containers on a vessel’s weather‑deck,” HKTDC said. The fees will help fund canal improvements.
Egypt could be facing a significant drop in its wheat imports since two of its largest suppliers, Ukraine and Russia, are at war. According to a report from the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, wheat imports into Egypt could drop by 8.3% from marketing year 2021/22, to 11 million tons for the marketing year 2022-23 starting in July -- the lowest rate in nine years. Over the past five years, Egypt bought more than 80% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine due to relatively fast shipping times and low prices. "The war between Russia and Ukraine is potentially aggravating already unsettled supply chains and causing major disruptions of wheat supplies to import destinations in the Middle East and North Africa region," the report said. "Egypt is not isolated from these catastrophic events, which is already affecting its imports of wheat from both countries."
Morocco and Israel recently signed a trade and investment cooperation agreement that includes temporary customs exemptions and establishes a new “trade relations” framework, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported March 3. The deal seeks to provide traders with benefits in several “high potential sectors,” including the automotive, energy, aerospace and medical device industries, HKTDC said. The two countries will also hold joint trade fairs to further promote trade.
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority announced March 1 that it will increase transit fees by up to 10% for ships passing through the key trade route. Transit fees for liquid petroleum gas, chemical tankers and other liquid bulk tankers will rise 10%, Bloomberg reported. Ships carrying vehicles, natural gas and general cargo along with multipurpose vessels will have their transit fees increased by 7%, and oil and crude tankers and dry bulk carriers will see a 5% fee increase, the SCA said. The changes come amid a "significant growth in global trade" and the canal's "development and enhancement of the transit service." The increases could be later revised or shed completely, based on the state of global shipping, Bloomberg reported.
The African Continental Free Trade Area recently agreed to rules of origin for the trading bloc, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Feb. 14. The agreed rules set new requirements for about 87.7% of the goods -- about 3,800 tariff lines -- covered under AfCTA, the report said, clearing a hurdle that has hindered the group since it began trading last year. Before the rules were agreed to in January, trade had been “very slow” under the agreement, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a range of other nontariff barriers (see 2108180020).
Israel's Ministry of Justice released proposed amendments to the nation's 2016 Counter-Terrorism Law that would allow the defense minister to independently add people to its "terrorist operatives" sanctions regime if those additions are based on designations made by "competent foreign sanctions authorities." According to an unofficial translation, the proposed amendment also allows for the implementation of U.N. terrorist sanctions on Israeli citizens, as the current law does not permit such designations. The deadline for comments on the proposed changes is Feb. 6.