Israel Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in israel, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Agreements
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Israel has adopted a liberal import policy. In addition to its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, it has FTAs with Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Guatemala, Hungary, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine, the UAE, the UK„ the EU, and EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland). In 2011 a trade agreement was signed with the MERCOSUR countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela). Israel also has a preferential trade arrangement with Jordan and maintains a customs union with the Palestinian Authority. In 2005, the European Union began imposing customs duties on goods manufactured by Israeli companies located in the West Bank.

As of August2023, Israel is in negotiations to sign an FTA with several other countries, including Australia, Bahrain, China, India, and Vietnam.

In 1997, Congress amended the law governing the U.S.-Israel FTA to enable the creation of so-called qualifying industrial zones (QIZs) with Jordan and Egypt. Jordan took advantage of this opportunity beginning in 1997. Under the agreement, products manufactured in Jordan enjoy duty and quota-free access to the U.S. market if, inter alia, they contain a certain minimum percentage of Israeli inputs. As a result of the QIZ agreement, exports to the United States grew significantly. In 2001, Jordan and the U.S. signed a FTA which allowed duty free access to the U.S. for Jordanian goods, independent of Israeli content. The FTA eliminated the significance of the Israel-Jordan QIZ agreement in terms of joint Israeli-Jordanian manufacturing and exports to the United States

Egypt signed the QIZ agreement in December 2004. Egyptian products manufactured within a designated zone with 10.5% Israeli inputs may enter the U.S. duty free. Exports to the United States under the program exceeded $1 billion and consist mainly of textiles. A list of current Egyptian QIZ-eligible companies and zones can be obtained at ttp://www.qizegypt.gov.eg. All products manufactured in the West Bank and Gaza also may enter the U.S. duty free.

For information on FTA partner countries, including how to take advantage of an FTA, please link to the FTA Help Center. 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

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