GCC States' Inter-Trade Increases from $6bn in 1984 to $115bn

The full Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) 's resolutions have contributed in facilitating the flow of goods between the GCC countries and raise the inter-trade value from $ 6 billion in 1984 to $ 115 billion in 2015. 
     According to a report prepared by Information Sector at the GCC Secretariat-General on the direct impact of the decision establishing the GCC Customs Union in 2003 on the growth of inter-trade, the trade between the GCC countries witnessed a noticeable increase in the first year amounting to 51%. 
The intra-regional trade's volume has risen over the past decade from $ 15 billion in 2002, a year before the establishment of the Customs Union, to about $ 115 billion in 2015, achieving an increase of 657%. 
    Since the early years, the GCC countries have worked to remove tariff barriers between them with regard to their products and having them exempt from customs duties and treat them as national goods. 
A free-trade zone was launched in 1983, the GCC Customs Union in 2003 along with the adoption of a number of laws, regulations and policies that facilitated the flow of movement of goods, services and means of transport between Member States and have encouraged national products beside the role of the GCC private sector in the development of exports. 
    In the same context, the GCC decided in December 1991 to allow the institutions and production units in the Member States to open offices for commercial representation in any Member State, in addition to allowing import and export of national products among GCC member States without the need for a local agent. 
I addition, there are a number of important decisions which contributed to the support of inter-trade including the GCC's Decision in 1993 on the establishment of the Commercial Arbitration Centre for the GCC countries and the establishment of the establishment of the the Standarization of the Gulf Cooperation Council in 2003 and the launch of the Gulf Common Market (GCM) with effect from the 1st of January 2008.