Abstract

Iraq is one of the countries that submitted an official application to join the World Trade Organization, but it remained as an observer member in 2004, because the Iraqi economy suffers from structural distortions as a result of wars and the destruction of all its production bases and infrastructure, so Iraq must carry out a package of economic reforms that enable it of integration into the global economy and beneficial accession to the World Trade Organization, and the study aims to present a theoretical and analytical framework on the reality of the service sector in the Iraqi economy and to know the opportunities and challenges of developing the service sector through joining the World Trade Organization and achieving economic development. The problem of the study was the low level of services and their performance in The Iraqi economy and its failure to keep pace with developments at the global level, and that one of the most important conclusions reached by the study is that the Iraqi economy suffers from structural problems and imbalances in the production structure, especially in the service sector. Moreover, the most important recommendations that the study reached is the necessity of preparing the Iraqi economy in all its various sectors Roll up to the stage of integration with the global economy and enhance the competitiveness of Iraqi products in global markets so that the gains and opportunities of joining the World Trade Organization outweigh the defects and challenges.