Other product specifications act as barriers to trade. For example, the Ministry of Health requires that beef imported for direct human consumption have less than seven percent fat, a level virtually never reached in premium beef exports. Substantial dollar sales of U.S. apples are estimated to be lost each year because the Ministry of Agriculture claims that the presence of dead insects indicates a threat to local agriculture. The same concern over dead insects leads to mandatory refumigation of numerous grain shipments, significantly adding to the overall cost of importing the commodities. Additional burdens to importers are caused by the Ministry of Agriculture's ability to refuse the entry of imports because of the presence of cotton seeds.
Closed bidding is rare, as national law requires tendering for all significant projects.
The tender process is subject to frequent complaints of lack of transparency, poor enforcement of rules, and rigged outcomes. As in other markets, U.S. companies claim that European and Asian competitors make payments forbidden them by U.S. law in order to win tenders. Such claims are difficult to assess. Egypt is not a member of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. The government passed an improved copyright law in 1992 and added software protection in early 1994.