Assessing the Impact of WTO Accession on Belarus : A Quantitative Evaluation

Abstract

a small and open economy,             Belarus' development perspectives are intrinsically             linked to its ability to produce and sell goods and services             competitively in the global marketplace. While Belarus is an             open economy, its trade links are concentrated both in terms             of products and markets. Mineral goods –most importantly             refined oil and potassium chloride - are the main export             product accounting for more than 1/3 of total exports. Non             mineral exports, including most importantly machinery,             vehicles and transport equipment are mostly exported to             Russia and other CIS markets, which account for 74 percent             of non-mineral exports while the share of EU countries in             Belarus non-mineral exports account for less than 15             percent. With Russia's WTO accession in 2012             competitive pressures on Belarus’ major market for             non-mineral exports have further intensified. As Belarus is             accelerating its own negotiations with the WTO,             understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by the             country's exporters is critical to putting in place an             effective adaptation strategy that will enhance             competitiveness and ensure Belarus can take full advantage             of more open market access. The objective of this note is to             analyze the economic impacts of Belarus' potential             accession to the WTO. The note utilizes a modern computable             general equilibrium model of the economy of Belarus to             simulate impacts on the economy as a whole and on individual sectors.

Original document

The different versions of the original document can be found in:

• http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24698 under the license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/