Inclusive Trade In Africa

Providing the first book-length analysis of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), this volume asks how can it be ensured that the AfCFTA is effectively implemented to deliver inclusive trade in Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will cover an African market of 1.2 billion people and GDP of over $2.5 trillion, across all 55 member States of the African Union. Yet, trade policy increasingly appreciates that free trade is not enough; trade must also be inclusive to deliver developmental benefits. With contributions from leading trade policy authors across Africa and beyond, this book offers insights into the development and implementation of the AfCFTA and serves as a reference for stakeholders interested in trade in Africa more broadly. The contributors assess what important lessons can be drawn from the experiences of regional integration in and beyond Africa, including from success stories like ASEAN as well as from failures like the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. An important new work for researchers and policymakers focusing on African trade and economic policy, and trade policy more generally.

Providing the first book-length analysis of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), this volume asks how can it be ensured that the AfCFTA is effectively implemented to deliver inclusive trade in Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will cover an African market of 1.2 billion people and GDP of over $2.5 trillion, across all 55 member States of the African Union. Yet, trade policy increasingly appreciates that free trade is not enough; trade must also be inclusive to deliver developmental benefits. With contributions from leading trade policy authors across Africa and beyond, this book offers insights into the development and implementation of the AfCFTA and serves as a reference for stakeholders interested in trade in Africa more broadly. The contributors assess what important lessons can be drawn from the experiences of regional integration in and beyond Africa, including from success stories like ASEAN as well as from failures like the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. An important new work for researchers and policymakers focusing on African trade and economic policy, and trade policy more generally.

Outcome of the Fostering Equity and Accountability in the Trading System Project.

Inclusive Growth in Africa analyzes the concept of inclusion within the challenges facing Africa’s rapidly growing economies, where rising affluence for some has been accompanied almost everywhere with rising inequality. Using a combination of political economy analyses, sector studies and econometric models, the contributors delve into a range of areas associated to the new realities on the continent. Topics covered include issues of disability, corruption, capital flight, and their implications for economic sustainability. There is also a discussion of the impact on development of dependence on externally determined prices for Africa’s natural resources. Other sector analyses look at agriculture and wind power, and the innovations required to make a difference for the poorer majority. The book comprises of a rich array of essays on socio-economic inclusion in Africa by authors drawn from academia, African think tanks and international organizations. It would be of interest to scholars and students of many disciplines, including: Economics, Sociology, Development Studies, and African Studies.

Emanating from the Project, Fostering Equity and Accountability in the Trading System (FEATS), supported by William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Focuses on trade policy making processes in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Informal cross-border trade (ICBT) represents a prominent phenomenon in Africa. Several studies suggest that for certain products and countries, the value of informal trade may meet or even exceed the value of formal trade. This paper provides a review of existing efforts to measure informal trade. We list 18 initiatives aimed at measuring ICBT in Africa. The paper also summarizes discussions conducted with many stakeholders in Africa between December 2016 and May 2018 regarding the measurement, the determinants, and the implications of ICBT. The methodologies used to measure ICBT in Africa differ widely, but they do confirm that informal trade in Africa is both sizeable and volatile. Both evidence on the determinants of ICBT and discussions with stakeholders suggest that policies should aim to reduce the existing costs associated with formal trade and provide positive incentives for traders and producers to move into the formal economy in order to avoid the loss of economic potential stemming from informal trade.

Sub-Saharan Africa's greatest current comparative advantage lies in its agricultural sector. Most of this agricultural production takes place through emerging agricultural enterprises (EAEs) - i.e., fast growing small and medium-sized enterprises. While some EAEs engage in intra-Africa trade, few have managed to sell their various agricultural products in high-value markets, like the European Union or the United States. To help EAEs grow within their own markets and compete in overseas markets, Sidley Austin LLP established in 2012, the Sidley Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program. Participants have gained deep understanding of practical trade barriers impeding EAEs' trade. But factors only tangentially related to trade law also constitute key impediments to African exports to high-value markets: for instance, governments' lack of a functioning Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) or Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) regulatory framework, EAEs' inability to comply with higher quality standards in high-value markets, and problems related to negotiation and enforcement of contracts. This paper discusses some of the main market access barriers encountered by Sidley's clients, and practical ways to address these barriers, including through the principles, tools and resources made available by the WTO. It provides a brief overview of the different types of import requirements EAEs must comply with in order to access high-value markets, including tariffs and NTMs such as SPS and TBT requirements. It then highlights ways in which an enterprise can best take advantage of high-value agricultural markets. Finally, it discusses how Sub-Saharan African governments can further facilitate EAEs' ability to bring their products into compliance with food safety and quality standards in high-value markets.

This book discusses trade relations and facilitation issues at both the regional and the continental African level, highlighting the increasing business opportunities and challenges that confront Africa in the digital age. It also examines the effects of trade policies and other policy instruments on Africa’s economic development and presents workable policy measures for a more business-friendly ecosystem. Discussing various topics, including trade relations between African countries, African and international trade agreements, and trade liberalization policies, the book appeals to scholars of economics, business and management as well as professionals and policymakers interested in fostering free trade and sustainable business development in Africa.

This book addresses a fundamental developmental challenge for Africa: given all that we know about pertinent issues, what should be done to ensure effective development in Africa? The changing imperatives of international development, the reform of international finance institutions and the growth-development nexus debates as well as varied implications for Africa emanating from global economic crises are critical if Africa’s development is to be better understood. Undoubtedly, revisiting the origins, contexts, complexities and contradictions of the lopsided global order and their effects on development and implications for Africa’s development is necessary. Contributions emphasise the need to radically transform global relations and to accelerate the pursuit of our quest for inclusive development in Africa; acknowledging that we must further problematise Africa’s development in the context of the obtaining global power dynamics and systematically examine the implications of the global economic crises for women as well as for land and agrarian reforms. The book is a timely contribution to our understanding of the global realities confronting Africa, with specific suggestions on how to improve development.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is expected to be a game changer for development ambitions in Africa.