Recent Us Free Trade Initiatives in the Middle East: Opportunities But No Guarantees
27 Pages Posted: 8 Dec 2006
Date Written: December 6, 2006
Abstract
This paper evaluates the US initiative to establish a Free Trade Agreement with countries in the Middle East by signing bilateral agreements with the countries individually and then combining them into a single arrangement. These agreements present new opportunities for Arab countries, but to take full advantage, they will have to complement the agreements with additional policy measures, both individually, and together. The promise comes from the ability to use the agreements as a catalyst for improving regulatory rules and systems at home and facilitating integration with the rest of the region and the world. But the agreements also present problems for Arab countries, first in relating these US agreements to agreements with other trading partners - most importantly the EU; second in creating political difficulties associated with closer relations with the USA given problems in the region, and third, in undertaking the necessary economic and political policies that are necessary to realize the benefits.
Keywords: Economics, International Economics
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Adjusting to New Realities: MENA, the Uruguay Round, and the Eu-Mediterranean Initiative
By Patricia Alonso-gamo, Susan Fennell, ...
-
Trade Liberalization and Tax Reform in the Southern Mediterranean Region
-
Globalization and Growth Prospects in Arab Countries
By Patricia Alonso-gamo, Annalisa Fedelino, ...
-
Impact of European Union Assocation Agreements on Mediterranean Countries
-
Can the EU Anchor Policy Reform in Third Countries? An Analysis of the Euro-Med Partnership
By Mehmet Ugur and Alfred Tovias
-
Investment and Growth in the Middle East and North Africa
By Mohamed A. El-erian, Mahmoud El-gamal, ...
-
The Liberalization of Tunisian Agriculture and the European Union: A Prospective Analysis
-
How Does the EU Agenda Influence Economies Outside the EU? The Case of Tunisia
By Luca Papi and Alberto Zazzaro
-
By Anja Zorob