The Arab League has a long history of trying to foster trade and
economic cooperation among its member states, with several
initiatives taken in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1981, an agreement
to facilitate and promote inter-Arab trade was signed, but to
little effect. In February 1997, the League decided to create an
Arab Free Trade Area, also known as the Greater Arab Free Trade
Area or the Pan-Arab Free Trade Area, by 2008. This would be
achieved through a 10% reduction in customs fees each year as
well as the gradual elimination of trade barriers. Eighteen of
the 22 Arab League states signed on to this agreement, which
came into force on 1 January 1998. In March 2001, it was decided
to speed up the liberalisation process, and on 1 January 2005
the elimination of most tariffs among the GAFTA members was
enforced. The 17 states that are members of GAFTA are: Algeria,
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman,
Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United
Arab Emirates and Yemen.