The Impact Of Eu Free Trade Agreements On Economic Development And Regional Integration In Southern Africa

Author : Mareike Meyn
Publisher : Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Africa, Southern
ISBN : 3631553544

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The Impact of EU Free Trade Agreements on Economic Development and Regional Integration in Southern Africa by Mareike Meyn Pdf

North-South Free Trade Agreements are supposed to improve African countries' access to competitive inputs and consumer goods, to assist in creating an enabling trading environment and to help to improve the competitiveness of domestic companies by involving them in international networks. Negative effects such as revenue losses and trade diversion are meant to be offset by safeguard measures, technical assistance, and economic growth. The effects of a free trade agreement between the EU and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries, especially relating to export performance, diversification efforts, industrialisation options and efforts for deeper regional integration, are the major questions the study addresses. In studying sector examples in the SACU countries for successful industrial policy, an investigation is undertaken of how a free trade agreement between the EU and the SACU countries affects domestic policies, economic performance and the position of sectors in the global value chain. The conclusion drawn is that free trade agreements concluded between the EU and southern African countries failed to be development-oriented. Subsequently, policy recommendations are made as to how EU policies towards southern Africa can take industrial development, export diversification and a move towards deeper regional integration better into account.

Author : M. Tekere
Publisher : African Books Collective
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780798303040

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Regional Trade Integration, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Southern Africa by M. Tekere Pdf

Despite a long history of regional integration and a multiplicity of regional organizations in southern Africa, the effect of regional integration on economic growth and poverty reduction remains debatable or elusive. This causes many to doubt whether regional integration is in actual fact an effective poverty-reduction strategy. Accordingly, the focus of this book is to explore and analyze whether specific Southern African Development Community (SADC) trade integration policies, especially the trade liberalization regime, have produced economic growth and reduced poverty in the region. While it is generally agreed that economic growth is the panacea to poverty reduction, there is little evidence as to whether regional integration in Africa is associated with economic growth in the countries concerned and subsequently leads to poverty reduction. The book makes recommendations on how the SADC FTAs can contribute to poverty reduction and socioeconomic development, and goes on to suggest policy proposals on how to enhance the contribution of the FTAs to poverty eradication and economic development. It also identifies specific activities to be undertaken to enable supply-side and productive competitiveness interventions to support the FTAs and contribute to economic development. The potential constraints and negative impacts of the FTAs are investigated and highlighted, and possible solutions are recommended and motivated.

Author : Gerrit Faber,Jan Orbie
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 405 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2009-06-17
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781134015795

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Beyond Market Access for Economic Development by Gerrit Faber,Jan Orbie Pdf

Starting from the observation that the establishment of free trade as such will substantially impact upon economic development, the different contributions focus on the potential contribution of non-traditional aspects of EPAs.

Author : Manuel De la Rocha
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 32 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Africa, Eastern
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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The Cotonou Agreement and Its Implications for the Regional Trade Agenda in Eastern and Southern Africa by Manuel De la Rocha Pdf

Subregional trade arrangements (RTAs) in Eastern and Southern Africa have proliferated in the past 10 to 15 years. The small size of most of the countries in the region, some of which are landlocked, and the security needs in the post independence period largely explain the rapid expansion. These arrangements are characterized by multiple and overlapping memberships, complex structures, and eventually, conflicting and confusing commitments. The influence of RTAs has been limited to assisting the region in increasing trade, attracting foreign direct investment, enhancing growth, and achieving convergence among member countries. But despite their limitations, RTAs have the potential, if properly designed and effectively implemented, to be an important instrument in integrating member countries into global markets. In 1998 most of the Southern African countries, as members of the Africa Caribbean Pacific group (ACP), signed the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union, which includes the negotiation of economic partnership agreements (EPAs) between the EU and the ACP. The Cotonou Agreement explicitly leaves to the ACP countries to decide the level and procedures of the EPA trade negotiations, taking into account the regional integration process. This raises the question of how to decide on the groupings in the context of conflicting regional trade agendas. The author argues that the Cotonou Agreement and EPA negotiations could become the external driving force that will push the regional organizations to rationalize and harmonize their regional trade arrangements, thus strengthening the integration process and economies of the region, and assisting the Eastern and Southern Africa region in becoming a more active partner in the global economy.

Author : United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Publisher : United Nations
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2006-10-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9789211556582

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Assessing Regional Integration in Africa II by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Pdf

This report examines the effectiveness of Africa’s regional economic communities in pushing forward the regional integration agenda towards the objectives of the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. A fully functioning African Economic Community will remove all barriers to movement of people, goods and services across the continent, thereby creating a single economic space. The report examines the critical role that institutions in general can play in achieving policy objectives, and the specific role that African institutions perform. The analysis focuses on the regional economic communities, which have been designated by the African Union as the building blocks for achieving the African Economic Community.

Author : Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba,Christopher Changwe Nshimbi,Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 145 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2023-08-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000921755

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Africa-EU Relations and the African Continental Free Trade Area by Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba,Christopher Changwe Nshimbi,Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka Pdf

This book explores relations between states in the Africa–European Union in view of the African Continental Free Trade Area, both at a regional level and as a series of informal processes of socioeconomic and political interactions between state and non-state actors. The book reconsiders the ways in which actors in the Africa–European Union relationship function, and what that means for regionalism, regionalisation and regional integration. In addition to formalised state-to-state and inter-regional interactions, the book examines the impact of socio-economic and political interactions with non-state actors, including those who engage with regional integration through formal and informal processes such as civil society activists, “African migration evangelists”, human smugglers and human traffickers. The book thus demonstrates that regional and inter-regional engagements include issues that extend beyond the usual discussions of trade. The book is authored from an African perspective and will be of interest to academics who specialise in International Relations, Political Economy, Political Sociology and African Studies. Policy makers and various actors in civil society and think tanks who have an academic inclination and deal with trade, migration and regionalism in Africa and Africa’s relations with Europe will also find the book beneficial.

Author : Talitha Bertelsmann-Scott,Peter Draper,South African Institute of International Affairs
Publisher : Saiia
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Africa, Southern
ISBN : STANFORD:36105132846697

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Regional Integration and Economic Partnership Agreements by Talitha Bertelsmann-Scott,Peter Draper,South African Institute of International Affairs Pdf

Based on conference proceedings, this book examines the dynamics of the European Union (EU) trade policy and the implications thereof for Southern Africa. The latter's problems with both political and economic integration are not new, but the process of negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU presents yet more challenges. The initiation of trade talks between the EU and the members of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries has brought to center-stage Southern Africa's problems of multiple and overlapping memberships of different regional organisations. Whereas many would argue that the EU should stand back and let the region try to solve its own regional integration problems before it engages, as a region, with external partners, others feel that the EPA process is breathing new life into the search for solutions to Southern Africa's regional integration conundrum. -- Publisher description (https://saiia.org.za).

Author : Helmut Asche
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2021-06-14
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9783030753665

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Regional Integration, Trade and Industry in Africa by Helmut Asche Pdf

This book examines the past, present and prospects of regional economic integration in Africa. The empirical analysis ranges from unions formed during the years following independence, to the proposed African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to remove trade barriers between all 55 African states. In addition, the book explores to what extent Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have advanced in accordance with a linear integration model of goods, labor and capital markets. The book subsequently evaluates the suitability of the European model of deep integration with costly institutions for the conditions specific to Africa, considering, for example, the role of informal and non-recorded trade. Stylized cases of regional division of labour with increasing returns and imperfect competition are introduced to support the economic integration logic. Past and current economic policies in Africa are scrutinized to answer the question: how can African regions best foster new manufacturing industries and value chains across the continent? In conclusion, the book outlines content and processes of Common Industrial Policy in the African regions. The book also addresses the controversial issue of international trade agreements between developing countries and the European Union or the USA and investigates whether these agreements impede or promote economic development in Africa. The book includes a detailed roadmap describing how to improve key clauses of agreements for economic partnership in the interest of African countries. In closing, it outlines a new vision of joint sustainable development for Africa and Europe.

Author : Talitha Bertelsmann-Scott,Greg Mills,Elizabeth Sidiropoulos
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 152 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : European Economic Community
ISBN : STANFORD:36105073503661

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The EU-SA Agreement by Talitha Bertelsmann-Scott,Greg Mills,Elizabeth Sidiropoulos Pdf

Author : Wolff-Christian Peters
Publisher : Peter Lang
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : Africa
ISBN : 3631610327

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The Quest for an African Economic Community by Wolff-Christian Peters Pdf

The African Union (AU) aims at creating an African Economic Community (AEC) by 2034. Eight recognized Regional Economic Communities (REC) are supposed to form the building blocs of the AEC. The book shows that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is currently the most advanced and promising REC but still behind schedule in reaching its own integration objectives. If the currently most successful of the African RECs may not achieve sufficiently deep regional integration in time then the chances to establish the AEC by 2034 are slim indeed. Combining economic and political analysis the author examines SADC, its achievements and potential in detail. Special reference is given to the impact of the Zimbabwe crisis on regional integration.

Author : Brendan Vickers
Publisher : Commonwealth Secretariat
Page : 95 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2017-04-10
Category : Africa
ISBN : 9781849291675

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A Handbook on Regional Integration in Africa by Brendan Vickers Pdf

A Handbook on Regional Integration in Africa advises and informs on current dynamics, opportunities, challenges and policy options for Africa’s regional integration agenda. It is a unique resource for supporting capacity-building on African regional trade issues.

Author : Vimbai Lisa Michelle Jana
Publisher : Anchor Academic Publishing
Page : 112 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2017-11-01
Category : Law
ISBN : 9783960671909

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Adopting a Harmonized Regional Approach to Customs Regulation for the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement by Vimbai Lisa Michelle Jana Pdf

The three regional economic communities (RECs) in Eastern and Southern Africa are the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Together, they have recognised the need to work towards regional cooperation aimed at the eventual creation of a single regional economic community or Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA). This will replace the existent RECs in Eastern and Southern Africa to which the member states of these two regions have multiple membership. The TFTA region comprises a total of 27 member states which have a combined population of 527 million people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 624 billion. These statistics translate into a potential regional economic powerhouse for Eastern and Southern Africa. One of the major goals of the TFTA is to harmonise trade arrangements among the three RECs, improve the movement of goods and persons within the single integrated region, facilitate the joint implementation of regional infrastructure projects and enhance co-operation of member states. This is a laudable initiative by the member states of the three RECs and it is recognised that regional integration is the first step towards integration into a multilateral trading system. For the TFTA member states, it is crucial that there is an awareness to move towards a review of domestic customs legislation and policy and to develop regional, supranational legislation and regulations in order to gain a stronger competitive edge in the global market. This study shies away from proposing a „quick fix? or „instant benefit? to the harmonisation of TFTA member states customs legislative frameworks and policies and the development of a single automated, interoperable electronic customs system. Rather, it places its focus on long-term sustainable benefits which will be realised over time. The harmonisation of TFTA member state customs legislative policies and the resultant Information and Communications Technology (ICT) reforms to the customs processes of the TFTA member states, though not immediate or short-term, will strategically position the region to conduct business in an increasingly volume driven, fast paced, electronic global economy.

Author : Rachel Houghton
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : European Union countries
ISBN : STANFORD:36105070817262

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Trading on Development by Rachel Houghton Pdf

Author : Margaret Carol Lee
Publisher : Juta and Company Ltd
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1588262243

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The Political Economy of Regionalism in Southern Africa by Margaret Carol Lee Pdf

In the face of increasing economic globalization, the countries of southern Africa have made commitments to enhanced regional development and the integration of their economies. Margaret Lee examines the challenges to regionalism in southern Africa, providing a critical assessment of the prospects for successful implementation. Lee's detailed study of the processes driving (or inhibiting) regional integration is firmly grounded in the history of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Her analysis of the evolution of the SADC regional economy, as well as its political, social, and economic contexts, is a major contribution to debates about the merits and pitfalls of regionalism and options for African integration.

Author : World Bank
Publisher : World Bank Publications
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781464815607

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The African Continental Free Trade Area by World Bank Pdf

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement will create the largest free trade area in the world, measured by the number of countries participating. The pact will connect 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined GDP valued at $3.4 trillion. It has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty by 2035. But achieving its full potential will depend on putting in place significant policy reforms and trade facilitation measures. The scope of the agreement is considerable. It will reduce tariffs among member countries and cover policy areas, such as trade facilitation and services, as well as regulatory measures, such as sanitary standards and technical barriers to trade. It will complement existing subregional economic communities and trade agreements by offering a continent-wide regulatory framework and by regulating policy areas—such as investment and intellectual property rights protection—that have not been covered in most subregional agreements. The African Continental Free Trade Area: Economic and Distributional Effects quantifies the long-term implications of the agreement for growth, trade, poverty reduction, and employment. Its analysis goes beyond that in previous studies that have largely focused on tariff and nontariff barriers in goods—by including the effects of services and trade facilitation measures, as well as the distributional impacts on poverty, employment, and wages of female and male workers. It is designed to guide policy makers as they develop and implement the extensive range of reforms needed to realize the substantial rewards that the agreement offers. The analysis shows that full implementation of AfCFTA could boost income by 7 percent, or nearly $450 billion, in 2014 prices and market exchange rates. The agreement would also significantly expand African trade—particularly intraregional trade in manufacturing. In addition, it would increase employment opportunities and wages for unskilled workers and help close the wage gap between men and women.