Economic Partnership Agreements and the Export Competitiveness of Africa
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 ins...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/05/9473003/economic-partnership-agreements-export-competitiveness-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6688 |
| Summary: | 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." |
|---|