Challenges and prospects for Egypt-US economic ties amid coronavirus

Challenges and prospects for Egypt-US economic ties amid coronavirus

The United States celebrated on Saturday the 4th of July holiday, also known as Independence Day. It is a federal holiday in the country, commemorating the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

On the occasion, Daily News Egypt sheds light on Egyptian-US trade and investment relations, and how the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected these relations. We will also look into the two countries' efforts to increase this cooperation.

Daily News Egypt also takes a look into the trade agreements between the two countries, in addition to reviewing the efforts to increase Egyptian exports to the US.

Egypt-US economic relations  

The most recent data from the US Department of Commerce showed that Egypt was the second-largest recipient of US direct investment in Africa after Mauritius in 2017. It was also the fourth in the Middle East after Israel, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham). 

According to the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) latest data, US foreign direct investments (FDI) in Egypt reached $279.4m during the second quarter (Q2) of fiscal year (FY) 2019/20.  

The trade exchange between the US and Egypt recorded $2984.9m during the first two quarters of the recently ended FY 2019/20. Egypt's