As a small and open economy,Belarus' development perspectives are intrinsicallylinked to its ability to produce and sell goods and servicescompetitively in the global marketplace. While Belarus is anopen economy, its trade links are concentrated both in termsof products and markets. Mineral goods –most importantlyrefined oil and potassium chloride - are the main exportproduct accounting for more than 1/3 of total exports. Nonmineral exports, including most importantly machinery,vehicles and transport equipment are mostly exported toRussia and other CIS markets, which account for 74 percentof non-mineral exports while the share of EU countries inBelarus non-mineral exports account for less than 15percent. With Russia's WTO accession in 2012competitive pressures on Belarus’ major market fornon-mineral exports have further intensified. As Belarus isaccelerating its own negotiations with the WTO,understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by thecountry's exporters is critical to putting in place aneffective adaptation strategy that will enhancecompetitiveness and ensure Belarus can take full advantageof more open market access. The objective of this note is toanalyze the economic impacts of Belarus' potentialaccession to the WTO. The note utilizes a modern computablegeneral equilibrium model of the economy of Belarus tosimulate impacts on the economy as a whole and on individual sectors.
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