Qualifying Industrial Zones
Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs)
In 1996, the U.S. Congress established the Qualifying Industrial Zone (QIZ) initiative to support the peace process in the Middle East. The QIZ initiative allows Egypt and Jordan to export products to the United States duty-free as long as such products contain inputs from Israel. The QIZ legislation authorizes the President to proclaim elimination of duties on articles produced in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and qualifying industrial zones in Jordan and Egypt. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in consultation with other U.S. Government agencies, designates QIZs.
In order for QIZ products to be eligible for duty-free entry into the United States, the article must be a new and different article of commerce that has been grown, produced or manufactured, or a “new and different” article imported directly from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, or a QIZ. Country input share requirements come from the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement (USIFTA), which requires that the sum or the cost of the value of the materials or the total costs of production must be not less than 35% of the appraised value of the product at the time it enters the United States. Of this 35%, U.S. components may contribute up to approximately 15%, and inputs from Israel and Jordan, or Israel and Egypt, must total roughly 20%.
If you have any questions about this program, please contact Pamela Kirkland or Alyson Demirdjian at the Office of Textiles and Apparel.