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PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/303

TRADE POLICY REVIEW:

Open trade regime has helped economic and human development

Barbados’ generally open trade and investment regime, and its close integration into the world economy has helped it maintain some of the highest per capita incomes and human development indicators among developing countries, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Barbados.

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The report shows that Barbados' non-tariff barriers are low but that the applied MFN tariff stands at a relatively high average of 16.2%. This creates an anti-export bias which Barbados has tried to offset through fiscal and other incentive programmes.

Rationalizing those programmes and continuing to take steps to enhance competition in the domestic market would shore up the position of Barbados' mainstay sectors like tourism and financial services. It would also improve consumer welfare and provide greater flexibility in economic management.

The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Barbados, will be the basis for the second TPR of Barbados by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 17 and 19 September 2008.

The WTO report, along with a policy statement by the Government, will be the basis for the Trade Policy Review (TPR) by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO.

The following documents are available in MS Word format.

• Secretariat report
  > Contents and summary observations
  > Economic environment
  > Framework and objectives
  > Trade policies and practices by measure
  > Trade policies by sector
  > Appendix tables
    
• Government report
    

Note  back to top

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop.

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

Schedule of forthcoming reviews  back to top

Republic of Korea: 8 and 10 October 2008
Norway: 22 and 24 October 2008
Jordan: 10 and 12 November 2008

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