Membership is based solely on a country's commitment to a liberal trading order as demonstrated by its economic policies. These countries are Chile , the Czech Republic , Denmark, Estonia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg , New Zealand , Singapore, the United Kingdom , and the United States. Next in line are the 26 countries that miss qualifying by falling short on just one of the four factors. As Chart 1 shows, the 11 countries represent major regions of the world. The periphery countries in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region are also represented.
Chile secures a foothold for Latin America, and the United States anchors North America.
The success of the GFTA for the first 11 members would attract other countries to reform in order to join. Reform would be in their best interest. A system based on rewarding markets that have already opened will change the way countries think about trade. No longer will open economies need to wrangle over winning concessions from closed countries to further free trade. Table 1 lists the 26 countries that just miss eligibility for GFTA membership by one factor.