Economic Recession and the Middle East's World Trade: Recent Policy Trends and Implications
Trade is a major channel of contagion during the current global economic recession. The countries of the Middle East , which are characteristically over-dependent on international trade for their economic growth and development, are as a result bound to be affected. The most significant aspect of the current slowdown in world trade is the synchronized nature of the decline in exports and imports of the major developed and developing economies since September 2008. Importantly, the impact of the global economic slowdown is clearly evident in the trade of bulk commodities, which have been hit by plunging commodity prices and the crunch in trade-financing. As a result, the Middle Eastern economies, being primary exporters of commodities, have been negatively affected by the reduction in global demand, especially for oil and petrochemicals.
- 1112 reads
