List of Figures viii List of Tables ix Preface xi Acknowledgements xv Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council xvii 1 Background and Context of the Study 1 (8) 1.1 Background of study 2 (4) 1.2 Context of the study 6 (1) 1.3 Objectives and structure of the study 7 (2) 2 The Political Economy of Free Trade 9 (25) 2.1 The economics of free trade 10 (3) 2.2 Instruments of trade policy 13 (4) 2.3 Assessing the benefits of free trade: an economic framework 17 (2) 2.4 Effects of tariffs and quotas 19 (5) 2.4.1 Effects of an import tariff 20 (2) 2.4.2 Effects of an import quota 22 (2) 2.5 Recent trends in tariff barriers 24 (4) 2.6 Why do governments intervene in trade and investment? 28 (1) 2.7 An institutional perspective of FTAS 29 (3) 2.7.1 Institutions and FTAs 30 (2) 2.8 Summary and conclusion 32 (2) 3 GCC Market Scope and Competitiveness 34 (21) 3.1 GCC market profile 35 (5) 3.2 International competitiveness of GCC states 40 (4) 3.3 Most common problems encountered when doing business in GCC states 44 (1) 3.4 Ease of doing business in GCC states: institutional factors 45 (4) 3.5 Ease of doing business in GCC states: cultural considerations 49 (4) 3.6 Summary 53 (2) 4 GCC-Australian Trade and Investment Trends and Patterns 55 (13) 4.1 Australian-GCC merchandise trade 56 (1) 4.2 Australian merchandise exports to GCC 57 (1) 4.3 Australian merchandise imports from GCC 58 (1) 4.4 Composition of Australian merchandise trade with GCC 59 (2) 4.5 Trade in services 61 (4) 4.6 Australian-GCC investment patterns 65 (1) 4.7 Summary 66 (2) 5 Challenges and Opportunities for Australian Businesses in GCC 68 (25) 5.1 Identifying trade barriers: a framework 69 (1) 5.2 The business survey 70 (1) 5.3 Sample characteristics 71 (6) 5.3.1 Ownership and location 73 (1) 5.3.2 International business scope of sample firms 74 (1) 5.3.3 Australian business activities in the GCC region 75 (1) 5.3.4 Revenues derived from GCC markets 76 (1) 5.4 Main barriers faced by Australian businesses in GCC states 77 (3) 5.5 Awareness and support for the proposed Australia-GCC FTA 80 (2) 5.6 Assessing the potential impacts of an Australia-GCC FTA 82 (1) 5.7 Organisational capability and preparedness to take advantage of FTA 83 (2) 5.8 Australian business expansion and growth under FTA 85 (6) 5.8.1 Proclivity to expand business in GCC following an FTA 85 (3) 5.8.2 Growth in export revenues and employment 88 (3) 5.9 Summary 91 (2) 6 Australia-GCC FTA: International Business Prospects and Limitations 93 (29) 6.1 Challenges facing the GCC 94 (1) 6.2 FTA as an internationalisation Strategy 95 (2) 6.3 Main challenges facing Australian businesses in GCC 97 (3) 6.4 Business expansion, revenue and employment effects 100 (2) 6.5 Emerging business opportunities in GCC: growth sectors 102 (5) 6.5.1 Travel and tourism 103 (1) 6.5.2 Industry, trade and logistics 104 (1) 6.5.3 Education and health 105 (1) 6.5.4 Construction and infrastructure 106 (1) 6.6 Unlocking business opportunities in growth sectors 107 (3) 6.6.1 Managerial recommendations 107 (2) 6.6.2 Policy recommendations 109 (1) 6.7 Doing business in GCC -- some practical advice 110 (2) 6.8 The importance of developing strong institutional intelligence 112 (6) 6.9 Contributions of the study 118 (2) 6.10 Summary 120 (2) Appendix: Additional Resources on Australia's FTAs 122 (2) Bibliography 124 (5) Index 129