English Version - United Nations Development Programme Romania

The following actions must be taken in order to achieve the above-mentioned goals:
Identifying certain products and services, as well as markets that should be given priority, certain
potential niches that will allow a faster integration of the Romanian exports into the global economy
(based on mutual advantage);
Implementation and completion of a coherent system of mechanisms and facilities (including
government support) for the stimulation of exports;
Creation of competitive conditions so as the Romanian exporters and their foreign competitors be
placed on an equal footing;
Further promotion of strategic alliances (national and international);
Stimulating business partnerships in the public and private sector, as well as between the domestic
and foreign sector;
Renewal and re-negotiation of certain commercial bi- and multilateral agreements that could lead to
exports in areas of special interest;
Developing free trade zones and encouraging specific activities;
Encouraging the export of highly processed products high added value, as opposed to the export of
low added value products, raw materials and reusable waste. The tendency may be crated by using
market instruments (fiscal and customs policies).
Defining a legislative framework (a collection of regulations) that is coherent, stimulating, and stable
for Romanian exporters and which should be compatible with international legislation in the field.
Promoting the export of ecological products and services, making use of Romania's comparative
advantages over other countries.
In order to make foreign trade policies become efficient tools in achieving economic growth,
import policies must be aimed at the fundamental objective of creating a dynamic equilibrium of
foreign trade, so that exports will be higher than imports. Here is a set of measures:
Identifying and defining priorities in the structure of imports (by products, countries, areas);
Evaluating the impact of imports on domestic producers and formulating certain trade protection
measures that conform to rules and practices agreed upon internationally in those sectors in which the
national economic policies require such treatment;
Stimulating, by means of market incentives, those imports that contribute to an increase in exports;
As long as they respect the international legal framework and practices in the particular field, and
as long as they can be considered market tools rather than discriminatory administrative means, such
measures are constructive economic (trade) policies aimed at prompting the economic development.
However, the domestic market must be an important component in the process of economic
growth, and the environmental protection must be included (in particular, regulations and norms
regarding packing, labelling, storage of goods, perishableness, generation of waste, etc.).
With all the progress achieved in internal trade (through the adoption of certain settlements), the
domestic market must nevertheless evolve in the following respects:
Developing the legal framework and the institutions needed for the creation of a unique domestic
market (introduction and implementation of certain competition principles and practices, creating an
institutional framework, integrating distribution licenses into a single informational system of the
Commercial Register, harmonisation with international standards and norms). In this process of
finalising legislation, the results of a permanent dialogue between professional and non-governmental
organisations must be taken into account;
Restructuring and modernisation of the distribution network (organising wholesale markets,
promoting retail sales through modern networks of stores, increasing the technological standards of
the distribution network);
Monitoring competition, protecting the consumer, the environment, and quality of life (drawing up
policies in this field, monitoring the market, and protecting consumers from abuses, by licensing
merchants, harmonising consumer protection legislation with that of the E.U. countries);
Increasing the general level of education and training in the distribution sector.
Apart from specific measures that will improve internal commerce, a set of regulations is
needed to improve business conditions in Romania and to develop the dome stic market.
This includes the need to take certain measures that will re-open the domestic market for goods
and services, for consumption, and for investments. This can be accomplished if the consumers' demand
for goods and services stops declining and if demand continues to be stimulated (fiscal measures,
encouraging the sale of goods by instalments, adopting certain national and regional infrastructure
programmes).
Domestic commercial policies could prioritise the generation of domestic demand for domestic
products. Besides an increase in the quality of domestic products, which will automatically shift consumers'
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