Economic Partnership Agreements and the Export Competitiveness of Africa
29 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016
Date Written: May 1, 2008
Abstract
Trade can be a key driver of growth for African countries, as it has been for those countries, particularly in East Asia, that have experienced high and sustained rates of growth. Economic partnership agreements with the European Union could be instrumental in a competitiveness framework, but to do so they would have to be designed carefully in a way that supports integration into the global economy and is consistent with national development strategies. Interim agreements have focused on reciprocal tariff removal and less restrictive rules of origin. To be fully effective, economic partnership agreements will have to address constraints to regional integration, including both tariff and non-tariff barriers; improve trade facilitation; and define appropriate most favored nation services liberalization. At the same time, African countries will need to reduce external tariff peak barriers on a most favored nation basis to ensure that when preferences for the European Union are implemented after transitional periods, they do not lead to substantial losses from trade diversion. This entails an ambitious agenda of policy reform that must be backed up by development assistance in the form of "aid for trade."
Keywords: Economic Theory & Research, Free Trade, Emerging Markets, Trade Policy, Trade Law
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Business Environment and Comparative Advantage in Africa: Evidence from the Investment Climate Data
By Benn Eifert, Alan Gelb, ...
-
Business Environment and Comparative Advantage in Africa: Evidence from the Investment Climate Data
By Benn Eifert, Alan Gelb, ...
-
What Have We Learned from a Decade of Manufacturing Enterprise Surveys in Africa?
By Arne Bigsten and Måns Söderbom
-
By Álvaro Escribano and J. Luis Guasch
-
By Adrian Wood
-
Mind the Gap - is Economic Growth in India Leaving Some States Behind?
-
Indigenous Ethnicity and Entrepreneurial Success in Africa: Some Evidence from Ethiopia
-
By Somik V. Lall and Taye Mengistae
-
What Matters to African Firms? The Relevance of Perceptions Data
By Alan Gelb, Vijaya Ramachandran, ...
-
Corruption, the Business Environment, and Small Business Growth in India
By Taye Mengistae and Maddalena Honorati