Diversifying Trade in Africa report offers insights for the design phase of the AfCFTA based on an assessment of existing trade, development and diversification strategies
African policymakers are embarking on an
ambitious regional integration effort. The African Continental Free Trade
Agreement (AfCFTA) creates a first-of-its-kind common area for Africa’s trade
competitiveness and development.
This agreement requires policymakers to align a wide range of complex and
divergent trade strategies across the continent. To support this ambitious
endeavour, the International Trade Centre (ITC) has launched a report that
assesses Africa’s existing national and sub-regional trade strategies to
identify common trends and opportunities in the ongoing AfCFTA negotiations.
ITC’sDiversifying
Trade in Africa: New strategy approaches for the African Continental Free Trade
Area examines 181 strategic African trade and development
documents in ITC’s Trade Strategy Map database. To achieve robust regional
integration, the report suggests that Africa should focus more on manufacturing
and innovation sectors that can add value.
‘If not designed properly and used by the private sector, the African
Continental Free Trade Agreement will foster little economic benefits. This is
why investing in the ‘design phase’ will be essential for African policymakers
to align often complex and even divergent national trade strategies across the
continent,’ said ITC Executive Director Director Arancha González.
To define a common strategic vision for Africa, ITC’s new report suggests that
AfCFTA negotiations take into account the following trends:
- Agriculture accounts for less than 20% of Africa’s GDP but more than 60% of the priority sectors in African trade strategies. Manufacturing and high value-added sectors are rarely prioritized both at the country and regional level.
- Overlapping sector priorities in national strategies, particularly for the agricultural sector, may require particular attention during AfCFTA negotiations.
- Close to 80% of existing trade strategies in Africa identify trade integration and regionalism as crucial policy areas, but just 10% of African strategies currently have a regional scope, which indicates there is space for regionalism to grow.
- Innovation is seldom featured as a priority in African trade competitiveness strategies, yet will be important for upgrading and diversification.
- Smaller nations in Africa can play a key role in building the African common market, as they tend to engage more in regional strategies.
Full version of the report is available on : http://www.intracen.org/New-ITC-report-Insights-to-diversify-trade-in-Africa/
Source of the report and photo : ITC (Centre du commerce international)
