Global Trade Alert

On December 15, 2014, the Egyptian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Small & Medium Enterprises initiated a safeguard investigation on imports of electric lead-acid accumulators of capacity of 36 up to 90 Amp-hour, whether or not rectangular (including square) of a kind used for starting piston engines (automotive batteries).
The products subject to investigation are classified under the following HS code: 8507.1000.
This follows the application lodged by Chloride Egypt Company on behalf of the domestic industry.
According to the UN Comtrade Database, in 2013 the following countries exported goods classified under HS code subheading 8507.10 to Egypt with a trade value over the GTA threshold of USD 1 million: South Korea (USD 11.07 million), Saudi Arabia (USD 10.33 million), Spain (USD 5.47 million), Turkey (USD 5.25 million), China (USD 3.92 million), Germany (USD 1.32 million), Italy (USD 1.07 million) and Czech Republic (USD 1.04 million).
 
On 26 October 2015, the Egyptian authorities notified the WTO of their proposal for a definitive safeguard duty on imports of automotive batteries.
On 11 December 2015, the Egyptian authorities however notified the WTO of its decision to terminate the investigation without the imposition of duties. The Egyptian authorities terminated the investigation out of public interest. The notice of termination was published in the Egyptian official gazette No. 278 of 8 December 2015.