Enhancing Regional Trade Integration in Southeast Europe
Countries of the Southeast Europe (SEE) region have witnessed significant economic improvement since the beginning of their transition to market economies in the early 1990s. Growth has been particularly strong in the past six years, but still lowe...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Publication |
Language: | English |
Published: |
World Bank
2012
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333037_20100219001121 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2413 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5931 |
Summary: | Countries of the Southeast Europe (SEE)
region have witnessed significant economic improvement since
the beginning of their transition to market economies in the
early 1990s. Growth has been particularly strong in the past
six years, but still lower than in other fast growing
countries in the East Asia and Baltic regions, or some of
the other new member states of the European Union (EU). The
purpose of this study is twofold: (i) to present recent
trends in intra regional trade in SEE, in particular
following the implementation of Central European Free Trade
Agreement (CEFTA); and (ii) to bring the attention of policy
makers to some of the remaining impediments to enhanced
intra regional trade. The rest of the study is organized as
follows. Chapter two describes intraregional trade patterns,
both prior and after the entry of CEFTA into force,
including more detailed analysis of trade structure. Chapter
three emphasizes the role of nontariff barriers (NTBs), such
as technical regulations and standards, and their potential
impact on trade enhancement, as well as the importance of
the trade related environment drawing on global surveys and
reports (doing business, Business Environment and Enterprise
Performance Survey (BEEPS), logistics performance indicator,
and the enabling trade index). It also looks at rules of
origin and their role in trade creation. Chapter four aims
to present the view of the private sector on CEFTA and on
trade related reforms in general through two case studies of
regional firms. Finally, chapter five concludes by
summarizing the key recommendations of the study. |
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