Introduction
An increasingly held view is that many of the economic and social problems confronting most Middle Eastern countries stem from their failure to become more integrated into the global economy. The benefits of globalization are widely documented. As noted in a recent World Bank report:
Globalization generally reduced poverty because more integrated economies tend to grow faster and this growth is usually widely diffused. As low income countries break into global markets for manufactures and services, poor people can move from the vulnerability of grinding rural poverty to better jobs, often in towns or cities. In addition to the structural relocation, integration raises productivity job by job.
Along these lines, President Bush has noted:
Across the globe, free markets and trade have helped defeat poverty, and taught men and women the habits of liberty. So I propose the establishment of a U.S.-Middle East Free Trade Area within a decade, to bring the Middle East into an expanding circle of opportunity, to provide hope for the people who live in that region.
With that statement, on May 9, 2003, President Bush set out his vision of establishing a U.S.- Middle East Free Trade Area (MEFTA) by 2013. MEFTA's main focus is to work with countries in the region in graduated steps to increase their trade and investment with the United States in particular, and the world economy in general. A critical component of this program is the assistance to be provided to these countries in implementing domestic reforms, instituting the rule of law, protecting private property rights and in creating a foundation for openness, economic growth and prosperity.
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