The new measures requiring the registration of factories that export to Egypt add uncertainty for foreign investors, which will make it harder for Egyptian companies to sell to the European market, and lacks transparency, the European Union ambassador to Egypt said, asserting that this isn't the way to solve the foreign currency shortage. The next step would mean going to the World Trade Organization's dispute panel, which is a long, heavy and complicated process, he said. The EU hopes that the government will cancel such unnecessary barrier to trade, he stated. The new measures, allowing the government to limit imports through selective registration in the aim of saving foreign currency, were issued in December 2015 and applied in March 2016. The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Qabil responded by stating that Egypt will not turn on the export registry and other import restrictions imposed this year, and that they are acceptable under international trade agreements. The registry is mostly populated by European factories anyway, minister added. (Bloomberg, Al-Borsa)