This book would not have been made possible had it not been for the advice and support of a number of friends and colleagues of the Institute for Trade Studies and Research, whose cooperation, support and valuable comments made this book possible. We are particularly grateful to Messrs. Dr. H. Ghanimifard, Dr. Javad Zarif, Kazempour Ardebeli, Dr. A Shams Ardekani, A. Haji Husseini and A. Erfani.

Particular thanks is due to Dr. M. Rafaati of the Institute for Trade Studies and Research for undertaking the editing of the text, M.R. Sadeghi of the Commerce Publishing & Printing Co. and his staff for continually pulling out all the stops to ensure the timely publication of this book and M. Asgharpour for the layout of this publication.