The Role of Trade Policies and Digitalization in Enhancing Export Resilience to External Shocks Evidence from Selected Oil-Exporting Countries

The resilience to export is important in economic sustainability particularly to the oil-dependent economies. Although the majority of the countries depend on the oil revenues, the export activity is often unstable because of external factors such as price fluctuations or geopolitical conflicts. This paper looks at the role of trade policies and digitalization in increasing the resiliency of exports in oil-exporting economies. The study relies on panel data on five oil-rich countries, including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, in 2010-2023. The findings indicate that the current value of export resilience is positively and significantly impacted by the resilience, which implies that there is persistence in export behaviour. There is also a positive role of trade policies like tariff reform and non-tariff barriers which reduce external shocks. The level of digitalization, as gauged by the index of ICT development, has a significant positive contribution to the strengthening of exports, which should underline the significance of digitalization and IT infrastructure. The paper concludes that resilience to external crisis through revising trade policies and enhancing digital capacities is necessary to ensure export resilience.