Comparative Advantages and Readiness of Iranian Manufacturing Industries for Free Trade and Accession to the WTO

The study aims to examine the comparative advantages and readiness of the Iranian manufacturing industries to liberalize international trade, especially through the accession to the World Trade Organization. Considering the nature of the data and outputs, the study has applied the multi-criteria decision-making approach and the TOPSIS ranking methodology based on for the expert opinions. The findings of the study indicate that most of the chemical and petrochemical industries, mineral industries, and food industries of Iran are ready to face the competitive conditions of free trade and accession to the WTO. In contrast, most of the electronics industry, a large part of the intermediate and capital goods manufacturing industries, as well as clothing and textiles are vulnerable due to the diminished advantages of comparative advantages, existing tariff and price supports, and -the non- competitive conditions. Therefore, accession to the WTO is a threat for this group of Iranian manufacturing industries..