What is "Trade Liberalisation"?

Trade liberalisation is a process of systematically reducing and eventually eliminating all tariff and non-tariff barriers between countries as trading partners.

Through the promotion of non-discriminatory trade across the board, the aim of trade liberalisation is to create a level playing field on which economies at different levels of development are to compete.

Trade liberalisation is motivated by the economic theory that an unrestrained market will result in the most efficient pattern of productive activity. This economic theory stems from Adam Smith (1723-1790).

Trade liberalisation is a global process affecting every country in the world. This global process is regulated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), established in January 1995. The declared goal of the WTO is, to quote its Secretary-General, "trade in a borderless world". This will result in a global marketplace, with market forces allocating scarce resources on a global scale.