Trade Certification Program       Trade Certification Scholarships

Trade Certification Program

As one of the main components of the center, TRAC will offer certification programs for junior trade executives and internship programs for fresh university graduates that would provide them with the necessary skills to conduct international business in accordance with international and agreed standards and qualify Egyptian producers to conduct international business in accordance to international standards and add the fast evolving changes brought forward to the U.S. and worldwide customs and security regulations. In this context, The AmCham Career Development Center will handle the implementation of the Certification program of the TRAC, it is currently in the process of negotiating with the American University in Cairo in order to offer a joint program together; and it is also in the process of negotiating with the International Executive Service Corps-IESC regarding the provision of on-ground training workshops from their online training program. Schedule of the Trade Certification Program will be posted shortly.

Individual Offered Trade-Related Training Courses

As part of its training component, the Trade-Related Assistance Center (TRAC) is organizing a workshop that is part of four courses.

Course: “Introduction to the World Trading System”, was given by Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim, a Professor at Faculty of Economics, Cairo University, as lecturer. It is an introductory course on the WTO; it’s agreements and an overview on Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). The first course was held on the AmCham premises on September the 18th  and witnessed 10 attendees from different reputable companies. The workshop devotion was directed towards informing the participants on global trade, which takes place through two channels, the World Trade Organization and Regional Trade Agreements. The course was rather a forum than a course to encourage practical thinking and interaction between the participants and Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim. To better facilitate the introduction of a homogenous trading system to the participants, the course was alienated as follows:

On the first day of the introductory course, Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim gave a brief overview on the world trading system and how it works. Dr. Ghoneim emphasized the role of World Trade Organization (WTO), how it functions, and elaborated on some of its agreements such as the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). He played two introductory videos on the WTO and one video on the DSB. 

The second day of the course was devoted to elaborating on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Through two inclusive presentations, Dr. Ghoneim briefed the attendees on the evolvement of trading in services and how it has become an integral part of the international trading system. He mentioned the 12 main sectors and their 165 sub-sectors. He explained the four modes of supply, their importance and the controversy each generates on the global scene. He also elaborated on the four sectors that Egypt has liberalized (tourism, construction, financial, transport) and how Egypt’s telecommunication services are undergoing vast liberalization process.  He also illustrated through statistics the importance trade in services plays in the global economy.

The third and the last day of the course, was dedicated solely to embarking upon the topic of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim explained the four schemes of RTAs: (Free Trade Areas, Customs Unions, Common Markets, and Economic Unions. To exemplifying the four schemes, he elaborated on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), General Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA), the European Union (EU) and the Common market for Eastern and South Africa (COMESA). He stimulated an in-depth discussion on the advantages and disadvantages, function and malfunction of each agreement.  Dr. Ghoneim tackled the issue of overlapping RTAs and concluded with practical tips for countries when signing agreements.

According to the concise survey on the course, most attendees were pleased with the topics discussed and the material handed out (6 essays and a CD with his presentations and other relevant papers), which they affirmed it would indeed come in handy. At 5 hours a day for 3 consecutive days, the attendees also thought the course was both informative and comprehensive. The positive feedback was not only restrained to the course and its material, but most of the prop was given to Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim and his outstanding lecturing and organizational skills. Finally, participants were then handed a certificate stating that they have successfully completed the introductory course on the world trading system. 

Course: “Manufacturing and Agricultural Businesses’ Rights and Obligations in the World Trade Organization”

This course gets into the details of the GATT Agreements identifying issues that are of interest to businesses. Issues as antidumping, export subsidies, tariff setting, agricultural subsides (export and domestic), standards are issues of paramount importance for any firm that wants to go global. Knowing the content of each of the agreements under the GATT and how it affects businesses is essential for any firm to reap benefits and avoid losses both in the international as well as the domestic market.

The main components of the course:

A guide to the different GATT Agreements
Agreement on Antidumping
Agreement on Agriculture
Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC)
Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT)
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS)
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing duties
A snapshot on how Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) can affect your business
The Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the WTO

Latest Developments in the WTO Negotiations regarding new agreements handling issues related to ecommerce, environment, labor standards

How should business community deal with all such agreements to maximize their profits and lessen their losses?

Course: “Trade in Services”

Trade in services might sound strange to non-trade specialists. How can people trade in services? Is there a potential for businesses exporting services? What are the mechanisms of exporting and importing services? All such questions will be dealt with under this course which aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of trade in services and the GATS agreement.

The main components of the course:

Basics of the GATS
General Obligations and Rights under the GATS
General rules related to subsidies, safeguard mechanisms

Reading a GATS schedule
What is market access?
What is national treatment?
What are horizontal limitations?

How a firm exporting services can pursue its objectives in different fields
Telecommunications
Financial
Professional
Business
Transport

How a firm in the manufacturing and/or agro business benefit from trade in services

Course: “Explaining Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)” on 11-12-13 DEC.
 
Egypt is a member of several RTAs and is in the process of negotiating new ones. What is at stake in such agreements for the business sector? How can businesses maximize the benefits from Egypt’s membership in such RTAs? What are the rules that need to be known for a firm when exporting to a specific RTA? This course aims at answering such questions while providing a practical guide for business community on dealing with RTAs.

The main components of the course:

Overview of the different RTAs that Egypt is engaged in with special emphasis on the EU-Egypt partnership Agreement, Great Arab Free Trade Area and the potential US-Egypt Free Trade Area

Rules of Origin
Tariffs and non tariff barriers