Epilogue to the article about economic development of Islamic countries (15)

Focus on foreign trade issues the author writes:

“Through the benefits of specialization, and the international redistribution of production to countries with natural comparative advantage, all parties can benefit from trade.

In this view, no country should have barriers to trade, in the form of import restrictions, quotas or tariffs.

The 1930s depression was partly caused by a collapse or world trade due to protectionism.

The General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT), now the World Trade Organization (WTO) was set up to safeguard against this.

Current trading rules do not benefit developing countries, but have been manipulated by developed countries to suit themselves.

For many developing countries their only hope of exports is that of agricultural goods.

Yet the EU, the USA and Japan have systematically prevented the rules of free trade as defined by the WTO from applying to agricultural goods.”