Analyzing the effect of intra-regional and inter-regional trade integration schemes of the GCC countries

Oman - 7 July 2018

Trade topics: Regional Integration

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are part of numerous free or preferential trade areas and are in the process of completing or negotiating others outside the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA). In this proposed study we evaluate empirically whether fostering trade partnership within the region is a better incentive for the GCC than engaging into preferential trade arrangements with well-established trade blocs outside the region. A Computable General Equilibrium Model (CGE) will be used to analyze four scenarios representing various GCC trade integration paths, taking into consideration the issue of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and trade facilitation measures.

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