PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/329

TRADE POLICY REVIEW:

Reaping the benefits of reform and liberalization

Over the past decade, Albania has maintained an ambitious programme of economic, legal and institutional reform, largely driven by WTO Membership and its desire to join the EU. In so doing, it has continued to engage in a remarkable process of transformation from a closed, centrally-planned economy to one that is liberal, market-oriented and private-sector driven, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Albania.

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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.

Maintaining sound macroeconomic and fiscal policies, and reforming the business environment, Albania has improved productivity and achieved solid economic growth over the period of 2002-2008, averaging 5.8% per year. Per capita GDP in nominal terms more than doubled over the period, unemployment decreased, and human development indicators suggest considerable improvements.

The report says that Albania would gain from continuing and reinforcing the process of reform, which has yielded such positive results. Given the speed and extent of legislative changes, it is essential to focus on implementation and further strengthening of the judicial system. And in the face of current world-wide economic difficulties, Albania may need to rely more on new sources of growth such as attracting green-field investment and developing a stronger export base.

The report, along with a policy statement by the Government of Albania, is the basis for the first Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Albania by the Trade Policy Review Body of the WTO on 28 and 30 April 2010.

The following documents are available in MS Word format.

  

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

China: 31 May and 2 June 2010
Malawi: 9 and 11 June 2010
Chinese Taipei: 5 and 7 July 2010

SEE ALSO 

> Full list of previous TPRs
  

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