COMCEC Trade Outlook 2019
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5. TRADE ENVIRONMENT IN THE OIC MEMBER STATES
In this section, the trading environment in the OIC Member States will be brought into focus with
more in-depth analysis of the current state of affairs in terms of trade liberalization, facilitation,
promotion and financing.
Trade Liberalization:
Trade liberalization aims at eliminating the tariffs and other trade barriers hindering the flow
of goods and services among the countries. Some studies such as OECD (2011), Pavcnik (2009)
and IMF (2001) have found that trade liberalization increases trade, supports production, job
creation and poverty alleviation, prevents illegal trade and contributes to economic growth. The
existing literature has found strong correlation between openness to trade and economic
growth. For example, Panagariya (2005) concludes that it’s unlikely to find an example of a
developing country that has grown rapidly while maintaining high trade barriers.
Trade liberalization has been on top of the agenda of the international economic relations since
the Second World War. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was initiated in 1947
for multilateral trade negotiations to liberalize trade. Since then, the number of countries joining
the GATT has increased dramatically. In 1994, World Trade Organization (WTO) was
established to continue these negotiations. The WTO negotiations aim at eliminating the tariffs,
non-tariff barriers and other barriers to international trade in goods and services among its
members.
Most of the OIC member states have also showed interest in joining the WTO. Up to date 44 OIC
member states have acceded to the WTO and 11 member states have the observer status.
Afghanistan became the last member of WTO on 29 July 2016.
Figure 43: WTO Membership Status of the OIC Countries
Source: WTO
WTO
Members;
44
Observers;
11
Others; 2