Agriculture and trade liberalization in the MENA region: dynamic impacts of future scenarios

Abstract

What would be the potential economic impact of a new World Trade Organization (WTO) trade round on the agricultural trade of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region? The answer to this question has to take into account not only the various liberalization scenarios one can meaningfully envisage as a result of the current WTO negotiations, but also the ongoing reform efforts of the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the enlargement of the European Union (EU) and the future of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreements (EMAs). A great number of divergent combinations of policies/scenarios can be envisaged and the implications of these diverse combinations are very different for the agricultural trade of the MENA countries.