The Uruguay Round and Trade in Financial Services in the Arab Countries

This paper attempts to shed some light on the problems and prospects of trade liberalization in financial services for selected Arab countries. The paper starts by considering the background of GATT and the case for trade liberalization. It then highlights the case of the Uruguay Round with emphasis on trade in services in general and trade in banking services in particular. The paper proceeds by investigating the issue of regulation and protection of services and considering the different kinds of barriers to trade in financial services. The paper also discusses financial liberalisation and the issue of appropriate sequencing. Subsequently, the paper compares the GATs with regional agreements with respect to trade in services. Finally, the paper displays the distinctive characteristics of the structure and regulation of the banking systems in the Arab countries as it discusses the cases of Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Tunisia and Morocco.