the impact of tariff reductions on budgetary revenue in the SMR countries and assesses these countries’ progress in implementing domestic tax reforms. These reforms are intended to help these countries compensate for the loss of tariff revenue and, more generally, to adjust to a more competitive environment of closer integration with the EU. 2. The principal economic provisions of the agreements include the elimination of any remaining restrictions on the EU’s free access to the SMR countries’ industrial products; the gradual elimination (over a 12-year period) of
Front Matter Page Fiscal Affairs Department Contents Summary I. Introduction II. Revenue Impact of the Agreements III. Tax and Tariff Reforms in the SMR IV. Revenue Shares in SMR Countries V. Concluding Observations Text Tables 1. Southern Mediterranean Region Countries: Tariff Revenue from Trade with the EU 2. Southern Mediterranean Region Countries: Status of Tax and Tariff Reforms, 1996 3. Effective Tariffs by World Regions—1975–95 4. Effective Tariffs in Selected Countries of the Middle East and the Southern Mediterranean
Reforms and the Implications for MENA Manufactures Agriculture Services V. The EU-Mediterranean Initiative A. Introduction B. The Main Features of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreements C. Economic Implications for SMR Countries: Costs and Benefits VI. Policy Implications and Conclusions Tables 1. Share of MENA Exports in EU Markets, 1980-94 2. Intraregional Trade 3. Openness Indicators: MENA and other Regions 1990-95 4. Trade to GDP Ratios in MENA Countries, 1976-95 5. MENA Countries—Summary of Customs Tariff and Other Duties and
, with agreements that seek to strengthen political ties and create a free-trade Euro-Mediterranean area with Southern Mediterranean Rim (SMR) countries over 12 years. Increased aid and technical assistance from the EU will support the needed structural reforms. 16 Agreements have recently been concluded with Tunisia, Morocco and Israel, and are currently being negotiated with Algeria, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. This new generation of agreements will supersede the previous ones, dating from the 1970s, which provided duty-free access to EU markets for most industrial
Establishing a free-trade area with the southern Mediterranean region is the centerpiece of the European Union’s new Mediterranean strategy. Strong adjustment and reform efforts by the countries of the region will be essential for the strategy’s success . THE EUROPEAN countries have traditionally had close political, social, and economic relations with the countries of the southern basin of the Mediterranean region (SMR). The SMR countries are defined here to include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia, although the
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