To stimulate industrial efficiency and achieve competitiveness in domestic and external markets, the government has instituted Tariff Reform Program and the Import Liberalization Program. This study evaluates the performance and competitiveness of the resin and plastic industries in conjunction to the ongoing trade policy reform. It also describes the structure of the resin and plastic industries and identifies the factors affecting inter-firm and inter-industry differences in performance and competitiveness. Findings indicate that overall protection in these industries has been significantly lowered by the TRP and ILP. However, the improvement in the industries’ performance, efficiency and competitiveness is not solely credited to trade reform but to other macroeconomic and microeconomic policies as well. Finally, indispensable to industrial feat is not only these policies but also the government’s provision of adequate and reliable infrastructure and a sufficient energy supply.
