Is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Customs Union a Myth?

Authors

  • Habib Kazzi

Keywords:

GCC States, GCC Customs Union, WTO Disciplines, Import Duties, Trade Remedies

Abstract

This paper analyzes the degree of maturity of the GCC customs union and ambiguities surrounding the Gulf integration process. Despite steady progress in recent years, customs tariffs and procedures are not yet applied uniformly. National customs policies often trend towards the objective of promoting diversification and competitiveness of domestic industries at the expense of global trade and GCC integration process as a whole. GCC States are torn between their WTO commitments and the need for a deeper regional integration allowing competition in a global economy, and, at the same time, the lack of confidence in this common project reflected by the persistence of variable tariff schemes or customs procedures, as well as the unilateral increase of import duties to protect domestic industries.

Author Biography

Habib Kazzi

Professor of International Trade Law

Faculty of Law - Lebanese University

 

References

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KAZZI H. (2014), GCC States and Trade Remedies: Between Benefits and Challenges, European Law and Politics Journal, 1(2).

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WTO, Trade Policy Review, Report by the Secretariat, United Arab Emirates (2016), WT/TPR/S/338.

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WTO, Trade Policy Review, Report by the Secretariat, State of Kuwait (2012), WT/TPR/S/258.

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Published

2017-10-24

How to Cite

Kazzi, H. (2017). Is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Customs Union a Myth?. Asian Journal of Business and Management, 5(5). Retrieved from https://www.ajouronline.com/index.php/AJBM/article/view/4790