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From barriers to bridges: AU Directors General of Customs discuss issues of implementing One-Stop Border Posts for improved trade facilitation
The 8th meeting of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General (AUSCDGs) of Customs came to a close on 18 November 2016 in Harare under the theme: “From Barriers to Bridges-Implementing One-Stop Border Posts for Improved Trade Facilitation.”
The meeting was attended by Directors General from Member States, Representatives from Regional Economic Communities (RECs), World Customs Organization (WCO), African Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and other Partners. The objectives of the meeting were to take stock of the work that has been carried out so far by Technical Working Groups and to endorse the recommendations of the experts and to reflect further on the issue of Implementing One-Stop Border Posts for improved Trade Facilitation in order to Boost Intra-African Trade.
In his opening remarks, the Acting Commissioner General of Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), Mr. Happias Kuzvinzwa, recalled the theme of the meeting and admitted that it is in line with the current economic trends in Africa. He pointed out that borders by nature, divide countries and act as frontiers between countries. He mentioned that the theme places emphasis on the removal of barriers, borders and boundaries to form bridges that connect countries. The Ag. Commissioner emphasized that building bridges allows connectivity which he said, links people-to-people, eases border congestion, ensures smooth movement of both human and vehicle traffic across borders and in turn increases trade relations between nations.
Mr. Kuzvinzwa also raised some of the challenges facing by Customs Administrations. He suggested that the establishment of Single Window Systems, coupled with One-Stop Border Posts, will go long way in promoting efficiency and reducing time and costs for traders. “Cross Border Cooperation is one of the solutions to come of the challenges that customs administrations face in the discharge of their mandates,” he underscored.
Also addressing the Meeting, the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Mr. Kumio Mikuriya thanked the Republic of Zimbabwe for the warm welcome and expressed the readiness of his Organization to assist and support the country’s initiatives launched in the framework of reform and modernization through human resources capacity building. Mr. Mikuriya stressed that the theme of the meeting fits with the WCO’s vision. He announced that the WCO will organize next year a Global Conference on Transit in order to support regional integration in Africa. He highlighted the importance of data collection, data exchange and data analysis and urged the meeting to share best practices and promised that the meeting’s outcomes will be incorporated to the WCO’s Capacity Building Programmes.
On behalf of Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the AU Commission who had been called to other duties, Ambassador Lazarous Kapambwe welcomed all the participants to the 8th Meeting of the AU Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs and thanked the Government and People of Zimbabwe for their hospitality. Referring to the theme of the Meeting, Amb. Kapambwe highlighted the importance of removing barriers to trade as a trade facilitation measure that would speed up the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area which is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063.
“Barriers were established because of fear of the neighbor. However, in a globalized world, countries need to open up but within a safe environment based on rules agreed upon by all. This is why the AU is spearheading negotiations for the basic rules that will guide the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and enable us to move and trade within a conducive environment,” he stated.
He recalled the pertinence of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and urged Member States to accelerate its ratification and implementation for it could reduce the costs of trade by between 12.5 and 17.5 % amongst both developed and developing countries respectively. In this regard, he encouraged Member States to carry out the necessary trade facilitation measures that will ensure the tightening of all loopholes in order to attain the AU’s vision of doubling intra-African trade by 2022.
Representing the Minister of Finance and Economic Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mr. Willard Manungo Permanent Secretary of the Ministry thanked the African Union Commission and the audience for the choice of Harare to host the meeting and welcomed all participants in Harare. He pointed out that corruption is one the major challenges confronting Customs Administrations worldwide. He urged African Revenue Administrations to share intelligence and notes on curbing corruption and all illegal and illicit activities such as smuggling, money laundering and tax evasion, among others. He concluded by encouraging the meeting to explore the possibility of establishing One-Stop Border Post at every border between African countries in order to speed up operations and ease travel and trade.
The conclusions of this 8th Meeting will be presented to the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Trade, Industry and Mining, and the Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration of the Union for further consideration and endorsement.
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How Africa Should Optimally Benefit from a Trump Administration
Cape Town, South Africa | November 18, 2016
If the names of potential cabinet secretaries are any indication of where the relationship between the United States and Africa is headed, the Donald J. Trump Administration shall not pay Africa trade policy much attention over the next 12-month period. Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Studies’ Peter Vale even suggests that American aid to Africa could decline; even if said aid is crucial for countries like Malawi. Instead, former Trump campaign advisors like Dan DiMicco – who might go on to serve as next United States Trade Representative – may, for instance, train their big guns on rebalancing America’s trade and investment partnership with China; fulfilling General Election campaign rhetoric to readjust free-trade policies that have, ostensibly, increased America’s trade deficits, lowered American wages, and cost millions of American manufacturing jobs.
Ironically, in spite of uncertainty wrought by this Early Trump Era, Africa could herself rebalance her yet-to-ripe partnership with the world’s largest economy. In fact, if Africa proposed an innovative, mutually beneficial and especially transformational trade policy blueprint to augment the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA), a real paradigm shift in the U.S.-Africa dynamic should occur over the next 12-month period. This case for change is premised less on Trump’s stunning November Surprise, and much more on the fact that unlike 2001 when the U.S. unilaterally introduced AGOA, Africa today is much more sophisticated in its capacity to advocate, design, advocate and negotiate comprehensive trade pacts. Illustratively, just look at significant integration milestones such as the rapid movement towards a common external tariff amongst the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and of course, the Tripartite Arrangement’s successful formal amalgamation of the 27 member states of COMESA, the EAC and SADC into the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA).
Seminally, in line with a push towards developmental integration under Agenda 2063 priorities such as industrialization, Africa’s blueprint proposal to the United States ought to be underwritten by (i) the continent’s capacity and viability at reducing America’s over-reliance on Far East light manufacturing inputs and outputs, and (ii) launching a continental free trade area (CFTA); essentially attain economies of scale necessary for American firms to invest in operating supply chains and distribution networks on African soil. An even rosier scenario should materialize if Africa can demonstrate that these duo-goals are attainable by 2020; that through the CFTA, intra-Africa trade will double between 2012 and 2022, and that agricultural trade will triple by 2025.
Seminally, Africa has already made substantial suggestions to the United States: The following ideas to include in a trade policy blueprint should only serve to strengthen the continent’s leverage with the Trump White House and Republican-led U.S. Congress:
1. Adjust AGOA Rules of Origin to Promote Africa’s Industrialization
In stipulating that tariff preferences are not nearly adequate to encourage export and industrialization in Africa, the 2016 USTR Report on AGOA opens the door for the kind of ideas that would make AGOA truly transformational. Perhaps the most ground-breaking element to a new U.S.-African policy lies in adjusting AGOA origin rules to better reflect realities of modern supply chains. Amending origin rules should not just afford opportunities for Africa to participate in these supply chains, but encourage backward linkages in developing economies. Given that most non-apparel supply chains finish their products outside Africa, Trump and Congress should remember that when AGOA was amended to include the innovative third country fabric provision, beneficiary countries like Mauritius, Kenya and Lesotho attracted substantial foreign direct investment to their respective light manufacturing sectors.
Remarkably, modifying origin rules could feasibly prompt even more supply chains to incorporate produced or assembled African component. The benefit to the supply chain would be that even if a product were finished elsewhere but contained identifiable African content, the final product would enter the American market at a duty reduction equivalent to the percentage of African value-added. More value-added should trigger further duty reduction. Interestingly, because China is making the move away from light manufacturing, there’s a chance that the world’s two largest economies shall embrace a bigger role for Africa in global value chains with arms open wide. Of course, this origin rule adjustment could optimally work in tandem with ideas such as making AGOA origin rule requirements less complex and less restrictive; a mirror of the way Canada permits cumulation of value-added by countries amongst members of a free trade area. If Uganda and Lesotho, for instance, performed joint production within a TFTA, their product should qualify for duty-free access to the United States.
2. Avail AGOA/GSP Benefits to African Cash Crops Subject to TRQs
Because the U.S. seeks to provide Africa’s rural sector from respite from economic instability and poverty, Africa must make a make an even stronger case for additional product coverage under AGOA, even if the Trump Administration intends to prioritize available resources for an ‘America First’ agenda. Like the Peterson Institute of International Economics notes, coverage of AGOA is also not as comprehensive as it might appear. AGOA beneficiaries, for example, export approximately 42 percent of their total exports to the U.S. under AGOA; a share boosted by the 82 percent share of oil and gas. While export of African apparel, transportation equipment, and leather-allied products is happening, manufactured products and especially agriculture exports barely feature. That’s principally because AGOA coverage excludes Africa’s main cash crops like cotton, leaf tobacco, sugar and dairy products – something that, on top of affecting rural employment, discourages African cocoa producers exporters from processing cocoa beans into chocolate and other value-added products.
From this perspective, the next few months could see an even more effective AGOA if the program’s duty free provisions were extended to so-called ‘sensitive’ products like sugar, cotton, peanuts, leaf tobacco and even diamonds. Like the African Union, UNECA and Brookings note, granting DFQF access for the 1 percent most sensitive import products to the U.S. would generate most benefits to Africa. Like the U.S. Congress demonstrated in amending Section 503 (b) of the Trade Act with little opposition to designate certain cotton articles as eligible for duty free treatment in 2015, Trump should recognize that admitting additional cash crops into the United States does neither disadvantages integrity, nor competitiveness of American agriculture. Invariably, the major entry challenge to African cash crops is not from American farmers, but from third countries that already hold most low duty tariff rate quota (TRQ) allocations they no longer need.
The keys to Africa’s case are; (i) how archaic Section 505(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 prohibiting the U.S. President from designating certain articles as eligible for duty-free treatment is, and (ii) how Africa’s economic agenda garners high levels of bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress. On top of encouraging exports from South Carolina to Angola, allowing African cash crops to enter the U.S. market strengthens a major ally in the global fight against terrorism.
3. Publicize Africa’s Integration and Assets in the U.S. via a Joint Meeting of Congress
The purpose of a Joint Meeting of Congress has usually been for Congress, and of course, the American people to hear from an important figure – generally a visiting foreign leader. As Israel, India and the Holy Father were permitted to more recently, Africa must make a vigorous case to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
In what would be a historical address, the African Union Commission Chairperson could, as Africa’s top civil servant, inform a prime time American audience of progress on (i) ECOWAS’ movement towards a common external tariff, (ii)the Tripartite Arrangement’s success at integrating 27 African countries under three regional communities, and (iii) the clear and present prospects for these leading to the world’s largest CFTA that should make economic sense to American businesses keen on larger and more efficient markets. Aside from how much publicity an address to Congress would give Africa, the rationale to a timely granting of this audience is that economic development is the most effective way to nurture peaceful society, reduce refugee flows, ameliorate humanitarian crises, expand markets for American exports, and in the same space, safeguard human rights and other core American values.
Our calculus is based on three interlocking factors: (i) that the African Union Commission elects an eloquent, charismatic and well-spoken Chairperson; (ii) that by October 2017, Africa’s trade negotiators will have made significant progress in terms of the CFTA, and (iii) that this address to Congress is leveraged to discuss the demographic dividend, Agenda 2063, the African middle class, and the continent’s sophisticated private sector as business partners to their American counterparts. An address of this sort should also highlight opportunities to invest in Africa’s infrastructure and energy sectors, and risk mitigation elements. Like happened when India’s prime minister made his pitch to the American people, we have no doubt that Africa would, at the very least receive the requisite second look by potential global investors.
Other ideas Africa should include in a blueprint proposal are:
(i) Because large sums remain abroad as a result of corporate profits often not taxed until returned to the U.S., Africa could propose that Trump avail American investors in Africa with tax relief on repatriated profit. Africa can argue persuasively that any profits not repatriated to the U.S. during the grace period but invested in infrastructure or employment creating investment in Africa not be taxed whenever returned to the US even if outside the grace period.
(ii) Africa must insist that American aid go towards the sort of policies and infrastructure that effectively facilitate African trade, both regionally and with the United States. Doing this would recognize that America’s active participation would be address failure to implement agreements or key aspects like sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues because of poor customs administration, deteriorating infrastructure, opaque regulatory regimes, and endemic corruption.
(iii) Perhaps the most positive part of a Trump Administration may lie in infrastructure development. If Africa could develop an infrastructure plan that promoted PPPs between African countries and American companies, such initiatives would attract support if positioned to increase opportunities for American and African firms to collaborate in meeting third country competition.
Conclusion
Ultimately, although one must not prognosticate around Donald Trump, a look at the global trade agenda reveals that while TPP is practically dead in the water, and any hope for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is further hobbled by Brexit, the prospects for a vibrant Africa trade agenda remain bright. As the only global power not demanding reciprocity, Africa could work with Trump to assure flexibility when it comes to implementing the EU’s economic partnership agreements. Africa must emphasize that she does not intend to endanger duty-free access, and that the possibility of entering into an FTA with the U.S. will not be the divisive or hostile affair promoted by the EPAs. The next twelve-month period allows sufficient time for Africa to develop mutually beneficial initiatives – ultimately graduating Africa from being dependent on the West to becoming a co-partner. But a year may not be sufficient to bring sub Saharan Africa together to generate a blueprint. Africa is busy with her own agenda, and too much attention may be paid to the intricacies of Trump World. These are distractions: Africa must know that she has supporters and strategic stakeholders in the United States. The effort to achieve a new blueprint must start now.
Dennis Matanda, Head of Government Relations at Manchester Trade Limited in Washington, D.C., was in Cape Town to participate in the tralac Roundtable on Africa’s industrialization and the CFTA. Find out more about the event here.
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New analysis shows scale of international commitment to tackle illegal wildlife trade: over $1.3 billion since 2010
The Global Wildlife Program has released the first-ever review of international donor funding for combatting illegal wildlife trade in Africa and Asia, which shows that over $1.3 billion was committed by 24 international donors since 2010, or approximately $190 million per year.
While there is growing momentum from the international community to combat wildlife crime, reliable information on donor funding has been lacking. The Analysis of International Funding to Tackle Illegal Wildlife Trade fills this gap by showing the scale of funding by donors and the depth and breadth of activities to tackle the crisis.
“Wildlife crime robs countries of their natural assets and undermines sustainable and inclusive development,” said Laura Tuck, Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank. “If we’re to tackle this effectively we need strong coordination of donor efforts and financing.”
Key findings of the report include:
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A total of $1.3 billion was committed by 24 international donors between 2010 and June 2016, funding 1,105 projects in 60 different countries and various regional and global projects.
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The top five donors were the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Germany, the United States, the European Commission, and the World Bank Group, who together contributed $1.1 billion of the total funding (86%).
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Sixty-three percent of the funds went toward efforts in Africa ($833 million), 29% to Asia ($381 million), 6% to global programs and initiatives ($81 million), and 2% to projects covering both Africa and Asia ($35 million).
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The top five recipient countries were Tanzania (8%), the Democratic Republic of Congo (5%), Mozambique (5%), Gabon (3%), and Bangladesh (3%).
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Forty-six percent of the funding supported protected area management, while 19% went to law enforcement including intelligence-led operations and transnational coordination, 15% for sustainable use and alternative livelihoods, 8% for policy and legislation, 6% for research and assessment, and 6% for communication and awareness raising.
“Poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking are reaching unprecedented levels and while many efforts are underway to combat the problem, reliable information on donor funding has been lacking. The analysis fills an important gap in our understanding of the collective response. It will not only provide a better understanding and coordination of the contributions of the international community, it should ultimately assist those on the ground protecting the wildlife and the livelihoods of local communities,” said Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson for the GEF.
Due to the cross-border and multi-dimensional nature of illegal wildlife trade, the development community must partner with stakeholders from multiple sectors and countries to reduce poaching, trafficking, and the demand for wildlife and wildlife products.
“We strongly believe that the findings and recommendations of this report will make a vital contribution to CITES Parties – be they donors, beneficiaries, or from range, transit, or destination states – in better connecting their efforts along the entire illicit trade chain to combat these serious and highly destructive crimes,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General.
The report was released ahead of the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade, hosted by the Government of Vietnam November 17-18, 2016, where global leaders will discuss the best way forward to eradicate illegal wildlife trade. The need to address the lack of donor coordination was identified at previous summits in London and Kasane, Botswana.
According to Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Director for Vietnam, “The Government of Vietnam has been making growing and visible efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade and reduce consumer demand for wildlife products. The World Bank strongly supports Vietnam in its wildlife protection agenda to ensure that future generations experience wildlife not just in books or movies but in their natural habitats.”
Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade
Wildlife poaching and trafficking are progressively complex issues and are increasing the risk of extinction for many endangered and rare species of wildlife, adversely affecting natural resources and rural communities, generating illegal profits for international crime syndicates, and resulting in the risk of new infectious diseases. Response to this global threat is equally varied and complex. Comprehensive and realistic approaches are needed across the entire trade chain, including preserving wildlife populations and habitat, sustainably managing legal trade, curbing poaching, strengthening legislation and enforcement, preventing illegally traded wildlife from crossing borders, and reducing demand for illegally traded wildlife in consumer markets.
On 17 and 18 November, the Government of Vietnam is hosting the Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade, the third of a series of global conferences, which included the London (2014) and Kasane (2015) Conferences on Illegal Wildlife Trade. The Hanoi Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade will result in an action plan that will call for reasoned, tangible, and unified action against illegal wildlife trade.
About the GWP
Launched in 2015, the Global Wildlife Program is a $131 million grant program funded by the Global Environment Facility and led by the World Bank Group to address the wildlife crisis across 19 countries in Asia and Africa by serving as a platform for knowledge exchange and on-the-ground coordination.
The Global Wildlife Program deploys resources along the entire illegal wildlife trade supply chain to reduce poaching through the engagement of local communities and by conserving and protecting wildlife natural habitats; control wildlife crime and reducing trafficking through effective law enforcement; and reduce demand for illegal wildlife by raising awareness and changing behavior.
About the GEF
The Global Environment Facility, established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, is a catalyst for action on the environment – and much more. Through its strategic investments, the GEF works with partners to tackle the planet’s biggest environmental issues.
» Report: Analysis of International Funding to Tackle Illegal Wildlife Trade (PDF, 9.82 MB)
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Why shipping must up its game to fight global warming
As world leaders talk climate change solutions at COP22 in Marrakesh, the maritime industry looks set to intensify discussions on determining shipping’s fair share of reducing carbon emissions. Raising the ambition for global regulation remains crucial to ensure shipping’s contribution to reach the Paris Agreement’s goal of staying below 2°C temperature rise.
90% of global trade travels by sea. Without international shipping, the modern world wouldn’t be able to exchange goods at a level that creates economic opportunities for a growing population.
However, it remains a global challenge to boost growth and trade while reducing the impacts of climate change. While shipping is often the most efficient way of moving goods over long distances, the industry must step up its efforts to pollute less.
The maritime industry emitted close to 1000 million tonnes of CO2 in 2012, representing about 2.2% of global CO2 emissions. Depending on future development, this could rise to 15% by 2050, according to a new study by the Danish Shipowner’s Association (DSA) and UCL Energy Institute. This makes the sector pivotal in bringing down global emissions.
COP22 represents a clear-cut opportunity to take negotiations further and raise the bar for the commitment of shipping in 2018 and beyond. The industry can improve efficiency by up to 75% through operational measures and current technology, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). But achieving it demands a higher level of ambition than outlined in the current roadmap for 2017-2023, based on both technical, operational and economic measures – and without punishing early movers.
As a company, we are reaching a point where it will be more and more challenging to drive significant reductions on our own. More than ever, we need global regulation to ensure a level playing field and a transition with the biggest possible environmental impact.
Accelerate progress
The global agreement from COP21 in Paris entered into force on November 4 and to our disappointment, shipping is not part of it. Shipping must decarbonise at the same pace as the rest of the economy and contribute with its ‘fair share’ of CO2 reductions to achieve the global goal of staying below 2°C temperature rise. Global regulation remains a key driver in realising this ambition.
There is progress. Since COP21, the pressure has been on the IMO to determine the long-term commitment of the shipping industry. In late October 2016, the members of IMO’s committee for environmental protection, MEPC, agreed on a data collection system to map emissions and a roadmap for a strategy on how to reduce them and when.
This marks an important milestone in the regulation process. COP22 provides a platform to keep up the momentum and progress of global regulation. The initial strategy is coming up in 2018, and it must include a clear specification of a long-term ambition level for greenhouse gas reductions. The DSA study shows that emissions may have to peak no later than 2025 and reach as low as 400 megatonnes by 2050.
Streamlining energy consumption and supply chains
As the world’s largest container shipping company and with port and logistics operations across the globe, Maersk Group plays a major role in improving efficiency in energy consumption and supply chains. Since 2007, Maersk Line has reduced CO2 emissions per container moved by 42%. For several years, we have made improvements from network design and speed optimisation to technical upgrades and new and more efficient ships, like the Triple-E.
As a market leader, we’re constantly raising the bar for energy efficiency and have set an ambitious target of a 60% reduction per container by 2020. By doing this, we are playing our part in tackling the challenge of decoupling business growth from resource consumption.
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Rwandan govt invests in more cross-border markets to enhance regional trade
Construction of cross-border markets along key borders linking Rwanda with its neighbours will be accomplished in the next five years and, once completed, will enhance regional trade, Francois Kanimba has said.
The Minister for Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs, who was on Monday speaking to The New Times about the seventh East African Community (EAC) Week, said the markets infrastructure has been an important programme the ministry has been undertaking.
“It has been one of the most challenging infrastructure programmes. Constructing these markets is resource-consuming and requires significant amount of time and energy to conduct feasibility studies to make sure that when you mobilise resources to construct markets, they are designed in such a way to have an impact,” Kanimba said.
The minister said the Government has an ongoing comprehensive programme covering the whole country.
“There are other small markets for which we continue to mobilise resources to make sure all are completed in the next five years,” he said, listing several ongoing big and small projects.
When members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) visited Gatuna border post on the Rwanda-Uganda border, earlier this month, members of Gatuna Cross Border Trade Cooperative appealed for their advocacy in the establishment of a modern market.
This, the traders insisted, would allow them to reap more from regional integration.
“For the cross-border market in Gatuna, we have done the feasibility study, but it has to be reviewed because it was not properly conducted. We are working with TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) to see if their second phase strategy can take it into account,” Kanimba said.
“And we hope they will because it’s one of the main cross border infrastructures really urgently needed.”
TMEA commits
TMEA country director Patience Mutesi said they are currently working with the ministry – their implementing partner – to fund construction of Rubavu and Rusizi cross-border markets.
Rubavu, she noted, has been “contracted and we are expecting construction to start this month.”
“Discussions are ongoing for Rusizi. But TMEA Rwanda is committed to support the construction of the two markets,” Mutesi said, noting that $5 million (about Rwf4 billion) will be injected into the two projects.
Construction of Karongi cross-border market, which was launched in April, is ongoing. It was expected to be completed within a year at a cost of Rwf1.58 billion.
Once complete, it is expected to boost trade between Rwanda and DR Congo.
On Tuesday, Kanimba said a completed market is at Akanyaru, on the border with Burundi.
“This was a good example because this cross border market was 100 per cent constructed by the district in partnership with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the local development agency,” Kanimba said.
Others under construction include one in Cyanika, on the border with Uganda, where work is done is at 60 per cent. The Cyanika border post works is funded by a development partner based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).
The EIF is a multi-donor programme that helps least-developed countries play a more active role in the global trading system.
Kanimba said EIF is also funding construction of the market at Karongi.
Funding is also expected from the World Bank to construct cross border markets at Rusizi II and Nyamasheke.
For the projects at Kagitumba and Rusumo, the minister said, support will come from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“We got approval to construct these markets by the African Development Bank, which is going to fund the rehabilitation of the road from Kagitumba, Kayonza to Rusumo. And they accepted to include the construction of the two cross-border markets in the project,” he said.
Other projects
The ministry is eyeing similar projects at the Nemba and Ruhwa border linking Rwanda and Burundi.
According to the ministry, records currently indicate that the five border posts through which the highest percentage of goods in transit are: Gatuna (30.6 per cent of total flow of goods), Rusumo (16.6 per cent), Kagitumba (15.2 per cent), Kigali International Airport (15 percent) and Cyanika (3.7 per cent).
Rwanda’s informal imports are mainly from Uganda, followed by Burundi, DR Congo and Tanzania, respectively.
However, insecurity in Burundi has led to a reduction in Rwanda’s exports to Burundi in the recent years.
Exports to Uganda reduced by 51.2 percent from $4.1 million in quarter four of 2014 to $2 million in quarter four of 2015.
Rwanda imported 6.4 per cent less, from $61.3 million to $57.4 million in the same time period.
Hides and skins are the main exports to Uganda, worth Rwf2.9 billion followed by beans at Rwf1.6 billion.
Imports from Uganda, in the same period, were dominated by Portland cement worth Rwf53.4 billion followed by vegetable fats and oils at Rwf32.2 billion.
Exports to Tanzania also reduced by 66.7 per cent from $1.5 million in quarter four of 2014, to $0.5 million in quarter four of 2015. Imports increased in the same time by 24.6 per cent from $18.7 million to $23.3 million.
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Africa Day at COP 22: Adesina calls for the fulfillment of the pledges made in Paris
African leaders on Wednesday called for speedy action for the implementation of the commitments made at the COP21 in Paris, and urged the fulfillment of the pledges fulfillment of the G7 to provide the financial resources to provide electricity to the millions of Africans.
“This is clearly becoming a COP of action. I am looking forward to the fulfillment of the full pledge of the G7 to provide $10 billion to the initiative. The sooner this is made available, the faster we will all make progress in achieving the goal of universal access to electricity and acceleration of the growth of renewables in Africa’s energy mix,” said AfDB Group President Akinwumi Adesina.
Adesina was speaking at the opening panel of Africa Day, the day when the continent is in the spotlight at the COP22 meetings in Marrakech. The event was attended by several African leaders, including Alpha Condé, President of Guinea and African Union Coordinator for Renewable Energy; Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia; Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President of Botswana; and a broad range of stakeholders and partners to give political momentum to Africa’s needs to implement its commitments.
The event took place at the Africa Pavilion – an area dedicated entirely to the continent where climate change issues specific to Africa will be showcased. The AfDB, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Union and NEPAD are hosting the Africa Pavilion at COP22.
“I’m happy to see the commitments made by France, Germany and the European Union turn into action,” said President Condé. The Government of France and the African Development Bank on November 6 signed a €6-million agreement for the implementation of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative. Ségolène Royal, French Minister for Energy Environment, and Marine Affairs, called on the European Union to move fast and urged countries to take action so that the first projects can take off.
Adesina stressed that the African Development Bank is doing its part. The Bank has committed to invest US $12 billion in support of accelerating electricity supply in Africa and leverage between $45-50 billion from the private sector. “The Bank will work with the African Union and other partners to fast-track the “Africa we want”: an Africa with universal access to electricity in the next ten years,” said Adesina.
The Delivery Unit of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative hosted by the Bank is now fully operational. The Bank is also rapidly building up its institutional capacity to deliver on its agenda for Africa. A new Vice-Presidency for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth has been created.
Adesina also noted that the lack of electricity drags down Africa’s growth and development. For decades, Africa has continued to export raw materials. The reason why Africa exports raw unprocessed materials is simple: Africa does not have electricity.
Remarks by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, at Africa Day, COP 22
Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen!
Let me welcome you to the Africa Pavilion, where we celebrate today Africa Day. I congratulate the African Union for organizing this event.
Africa was at the forefront of the success of COP 21 in Paris. You our leaders led the way in supporting Africa’s need to solve its challenge of lack of electricity. And for good reason: Africa is tired of being in the dark. And Africa cannot develop in the dark.
Just take a look at how lack of electricity drags down Africa’s growth and development. For decades, Africa has continued to export raw materials. As it does, it is subject to global commodity price shocks, as we are witnessing again. The reason why Africa exports raw unprocessed materials is simple: Africa does not have electricity.
Lack of access to power has pushed Africa down to the bottom of global value chains.
Africa must “power up” itself to add value to what it produces, speed up industrialization and move to the top of global value chains.
This must start with unlocking the huge amounts of energy potential on the continent, including the vast potentials in renewable and non-renewable energy. Potential is important, yes, but potential alone cannot light up homes or power industries. Therefore we must act.
We must ensure that Africa develops a balanced energy mix that will allow it to industrialize. Grid, mini-grid and off-grid systems will play a major role.
We are doing our part at the Bank. The African Development Bank has committed itself to invest $12 billion in support of accelerating electricity supply in Africa and leverage between $45-50 billion from the private sector. The Bank will work with the African Union and other partners to fast track the “Africa we want”: an Africa with universal access to electricity in the next ten years.
That is why the African Development Bank is delighted with and highly supportive of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to unlock Africa’s renewable energy potential to deliver 10 GW of electricity by 2020 and 300 GW by 2030. The initiative was the major outcome for Africa from COP 21 in Paris, where G7 countries committed to provide $10 billion towards the initiative.
The Bank is rapidly building up its institutional capacity to deliver on its “light up and power” agenda for Africa. To drive action, the Bank has established a new Vice-Presidency for power, energy, climate and green growth, making it the first multilateral development institution to do so. Mr. Amadou Hott, the newly appointed Vice-President is here with us today. The Bank is now structurally set up to drive the agenda to light up and power Africa. We are fit for purpose.
The African Union approved for the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative to be moved forward quickly and decided that the African Development Bank should be the Trustee for the Initiative and host the independent delivery unit for the initiative.
Since the AU decision in Kigali, the Bank has moved quickly. The Independent Delivery Unit has been established and is now fully operational and hosted within the Bank. The Head of the Delivery Unit was hired in August 2016.
Financing for the initiative is growing. I wish to thank the Governments of France and Germany for their continued strong support for this initiative. I am delighted to inform you that just this week France paid 6 million euros to support the Independent Delivery Unit. Ms. Ségolène Royal, the President of COP21 delivered: we thank you. Yesterday, President Hollande of France saluted the great efforts of the African Development Bank in moving the AREI forward and announced that France will provide 2 billion euros for the initiative.
Germany has also committed to provide 2 million euros in support of the delivery unit.
I am also delighted that the European Union will be strongly supporting the initiative and we will hear from the Director General of the European Union who will be speaking later on their plans.
This is clearly becoming a COP of action. I am looking forward to the fulfillment of the full pledge of the G7 to provide $10 billion to the initiative. The sooner this is made available, the faster we will all make progress in achieving the goal of universal access to electricity and acceleration of the growth of renewables in Africa’s energy mix.
Let me close by thanking President Condé, the President of Guinea, all the African Heads of State, and Dr. Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, for their indefatigable support behind this initiative.
Africa needs you and all its partners to deliver success on the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative. The initiative should be fully supported with new money and we must avoid any attempt to derail the initiative through parallel systems of financing.
We must come together and move in the same direction. As approved by the African Union, the African Development Bank will continue to play its role as host and trustee of the initiative. Together, let us move the initiative forward. Let’s turn pledges on paper into projects on the ground. Let us together deliver success for Africa. Let us together light up and power Africa!
Thank you very much.
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Tanzanian sues to stop Kenya from concluding trade deal with Europe
Kenya’s quest to close an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union ahead of next year’s deadline has run into fresh head winds after a Tanzanian lodged a civil suit in the East African Court of Justice, seeking to stop it.
Castro Pius Shirima, a law lecturer at Iringa University, wants the regional court to stop the remaining signatories of the pact from penning the agreement that Kenya needs to protect a third of its export market. Kenya and Rwanda signed the contentious deal in September.
Mr Shirima argues in the case, which comes up for hearing next week, that the remaining members of the EAC – Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan – should be prevented from signing the EPA because of the many risks it poses to the region’s economy.
He further argues that “signing such an agreement by the second and third respondents (Kenya and Rwanda) has violated the letter and spirit of the EAC Treaty.”
“If (the signing of EPA is) not stayed, any further signature will allow ratification and regional application of the agreement, which will most likely displace EAC products from the market thereby undermining industrialisation policy and tariff regimes,” he says in the papers filed on October 31.
The Arusha-based EAC Secretariat confirmed that its top officials had been served with the court papers.
“Yes, there is case to that effect that is coming up. Once we have more information we’ll issue a statement,” a source at the EAC Secretariat said.
The case commences barely one month before the region’s leadership meets again in Arusha at the start of next year to decide the fate of the EPA – a deal that guarantees EAC member states quota-and-duty free access to the EU market.
The presidents met in September in the wake of Tanzania’s stiff opposition to the pact. It was during the meeting that the leaders decided to give technocrats more room for consultations on EPAs and to review their position in January.
Kenya has, however, since 2007 been pushing for the deal to be concluded with speed. Being the only developing state in EAC (the rest are classified as Least Developed Countries that enjoy duty-free trade with EU without reciprocating), Kenya has had to lobby its partners to endorse EPA because of the shared customs territory.
Observers are likely to interpret Mr Shirima’s suit as the latest attempt by Tanzania to throw a spanner in the works after Kenya – backed by Rwanda – pulled off a surprise move to beat the psychological September 30 deadline that the EU Parliament had issued earlier.
The rushed signing of EPA helped to shield Kenya from an estimated Sh100 million-a-month tariff cost that the EU had threatened to impose from October 1.
Tanzania has long stated its opposition to the EPA. Former Tanzanian President William Mkapa has previously personified the country’s resistance to the trade deal.
Mr Mkapa maintains that the deal — which he describes as a latter-day scramble for Africa – would kill the region’s industrialisation dream.
Earlier in the year, Tanzania’s cabinet apparently took the cue when it, in a decision announced by its Foreign Affairs ministry, opted to pull out of a joint deal hammered by the bloc’s ministers to have the region sign EPAs collectively.
Unanimous vote
Last week, the Tanzanian parliament, which has the power to ratify such trade deals, joined the fray with a near unanimous vote to block the country from signing the EPA.
The EU absorbed 32 per cent of the Sh581 billion that Kenya exported last year.
Data prepared by Kenya’s Industrialisation ministry shows that the booming Europe-bound exports directly sustain 200 firms and four million citizens.
Under the EPA, the EU will immediately keep its market open for the region in exchange for gradual liberalisation of 82.6 per cent of the signatories’ market over a period of 25 years.
Mr Shirima, who previously worked at the Arusha Resident Magistrate Court and describes himself as a tax administration specialist, is seeking orders staying the signing of the deal by the remaining EAC members until the European side guarantees that its subsidised agricultural products will not expose the region’s farmers to unfair competition and compromise food insecurity.
Both the EU and EAC side have, however, maintained that the EPA does not include liberalising the agricultural sector.
He wants the regional court to order Kenya and Rwanda to suspend further engagement with the EU side over the EPAs.
Kenya has already deposited a ratified document with the EU parliament while Rwanda is in the process of ratifying the agreement.
Mr Shirima has also asked the regional court to order EAC Secretary-General Liberat Mfumukeko to suspend trade negotiations with the EU until his case is determined.
Being a shared customs territory, however, all the six EAC members must sign the EPA for it to be implemented in the region.
Mr Shirima says the deal already endorsed by Kenya and Rwanda does not have any compensatory remedies for negative consequences of its implementation.
He states in his suit: “I stand to suffer irreparable economic loss and violation of my rights under the EAC Treaty in case of further signatures and/or ratifications to the EPA before the determination of this application.”
The case is once again expected to test the EACJ’s mettle to handle the hard political question of regional integration.
» Read more about the EAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement on the EAC resources page.
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U.S. Government and EAC sign $194 million partnership agreement to strengthen regional development
Today, the U.S. Government and the East African Community (EAC) launched a Regional Development Objectives Grant Agreement at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. On behalf of the U.S. Government, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will contribute approximately $194 million over a five year period to shared development goals, deepening the partnership between the two organizations.
About $30 million will fund institutional strengthening within the EAC Secretariat, while the remainder will support other development partners in their efforts to contribute to the EAC regional integration agenda.
Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Tanzania and U.S. Representative to the EAC Virginia Blaser, USAID Mission Director for Kenya and East Africa Karen Freeman, and EAC Secretary General Ambassador Liberát Mfumukeko signed a memorandum of acknowledgment to affirm the agreement.
Chargé Blaser noted the tremendous value of fostering regional cooperation, saying that the United States supports “governments and regional bodies such as the EAC in their collaborative efforts to unlock this region’s full potential for the benefit of its people.”
USAID Mission Director Freeman emphasized the joint achievements of the EAC and USAID over the past two decades. “By simplifying customs and border procedures, we have facilitated faster, more affordable and predictable trade. We have increased investment by facilitating the closure of more international deals, which are expanding local industries and manufacturing.”
Under this agreement, the EAC and the United States will work together to (i) advance regional economic integration, (ii) increase trade and investment between member states and with the United States, (iii) improve the sustainable management of natural resources in the Lake Victoria Basin and Mara River ecosystems, (iv) improve access to integrated health services in border areas and (iv) strengthen the EAC’s organizational leadership.
In his remarks, EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko thanked USAID for its continued support to the EAC integration agenda.
Amb. Mfumukeko said that EAC’s partnership with the United States dates back to the Community’s inception.
“The partnership continues to expand and be strengthened through mutual development objectives and funding for programmes such as trade and investment, biodiversity, climate change, agriculture, food security, water supply and sanitation, and institutional support,” said Amb. Mfumukeko.
The Secretary General said that the new EAC-USAID Regional Development Objective Grant Agreement (RDOAG) 2016-2021 would deepen integration, improve cross-border risk management and strengthen regional institutions leadership and learning. He added that the RDOAG would support harmonization of policies and standards, and scale up technologies and best practices in trade, investment, agriculture, energy, and environmental and natural resource management.
Other to be supported by the Agreement are climate change, gender, livelihood, population and health threats.
Also present at the ceremony were the Ms. Candace Buzzard, Deputy Director at the USAID Mission and Mr. Charles Njoroge, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Political Federation.
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Deepening South-South cooperation driving climate action among developing countries
South-South cooperation is growing, as developing countries are helping each other to address climate change, sustainable development and implementation of the Paris Agreement, said senior United Nations officials and government Ministers at the UN Climate Conference in Marrakech (COP 22).
“It is encouraging and inspiring to see how South-South Cooperation is gaining traction,” said the Special Advisor of the UN Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Dr. David Nabarro, at the High-Level Forum on South-South Cooperation on Climate Change, one of the event’s kicking off the second week of the 22nd Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 14 November 2016.
Dr. Nabarro stressed that the Climate Partnerships for the Global South, also known as Southern Climate Partnership Incubator (SCPI), initiated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in the margins of the signinig ceremony for the Paris Agreement, held at UN Headquarters in New York this past April, “is about making connections.” The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016.
The United Nations has launched the SCPI to initiate, facilitate, and support partnerships that will help developing countries address climate change. “SCPI is leveraging the UN system to match the needs of developing countries with counterparts willing and able to meet them. Through the SCPI we can help each one to learn from the other,” said Dr. Nabarro, adding that the SCPI has reviewed 300 good cases of bilateral, trilateral and plurilateral partnerships facilitated by the UN, non-governmental organizations and multilateral development banks.
The President of COP 22, Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco, underscored that the South-South cooperation is “not in opposition to North-South or South-North cooperation.” Indeed, he said, through South-South cooperation, “we want to assure that countries of the South are taking charge, that they have much to share and much to bring to each other,” he told the participants of the Forum.
“As we are in a changing world, the balances of this new world also depend on the strengthening of South-South partnerships and South-South cooperation. [Momentum in both these areas] will help move much faster and will also help developing countries find other levers to meet the challenges they face,” he added.
The Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, Patricia Espinosa reminded the Forum’s participants that “while it is clear that developed countries need to provide support to developing countries to reach their goals of the Paris [that accord] also encourages complimentary support such as South-South cooperation.” Indeed, South-South cooperation is rapidly becoming an integral component of international cooperation to address climate change.
Dr. Nabarro thanked China for its leadership and generous support to advance South-South cooperation and “for bringing together action on climate and action on sustainable development in such a decisive way.” Monday’s Forum was co-hosted by China, Morocco and the UN.
He cited China’s flagship programme, the South-South Cooperation Fund on climate change, which “is expanding the capacities of more developing countries to engage in this kind of collaboration.” He also stressed China’s significant contributions towards regional and global low-carbon transition with a solar alliance and the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI). He also mentioned Brazil, who is leading the efforts on Biofuture Platform, a joint initiative to decarbonize the transport sector.
At the High-Level Forum, the Special Representative of China on Climate Change Affairs, Mr. Zhenhua Xie, said that his country was willing to share its experiences in regard with coping with climate change. “We need to promote more South-South cooperation,” he said, calling on international organizations to act as “bridges.”
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Natural disasters force 26 million people into poverty and cost $520bn in losses every year, new World Bank analysis finds
Human and economic costs of disasters underestimated by up to 60 percent
The impact of extreme natural disasters is equivalent to a global $520 billion loss in annual consumption, and forces some 26 million people into poverty each year, a new report from the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) reveals.
“Severe climate shocks threaten to roll back decades of progress against poverty,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “Storms, floods, and droughts have dire human and economic consequences, with poor people often paying the heaviest price. Building resilience to disasters not only makes economic sense, it is a moral imperative.”
The report, Unbreakable: Building the Resilience of the Poor in the Face of Natural Disasters, warns that the combined human and economic impacts of extreme weather on poverty are far more devastating than previously understood.
In all of the 117 countries studied, the effect on well-being, measured in terms of lost consumption, is found to be larger than asset losses. Because disaster losses disproportionately affect poor people, who have a limited ability to cope with them, the report estimates that impact on well-being in these countries is equivalent to consumption losses of about $520 billion a year. This outstrips all other estimates by as much as 60 percent.
With the climate summit, COP22, underway, the report’s findings underscore the urgency for climate-smart policies that better protect the most vulnerable. Poor people are typically more exposed to natural hazards, losing more as a share of their wealth and are often unable to draw on support from family, friends, financial systems, or governments.
Unbreakable uses a new method of measuring disaster damages, factoring in the unequal burden of natural disasters on the poor. Myanmar’s 2008 Cyclone Nargis, for example, forced up to half of the country’s poor farmers to sell off assets including land, to relieve the debt burden following the cyclone. Economic and social repercussions of Nargis will be felt for generations.
Breaking the link between extreme weather and extreme poverty
The report assesses, for the first time, the benefits of resilience-building interventions in the countries studied. The report proposes a “resilience policy” package that would help poor people cope with the consequences of adverse weather and other extreme natural events. This includes early warning systems, improved access to personal banking, insurance policies, and social protection systems (like cash transfers and public works programs) that could help people better respond to and recover from shocks.
If Angola, for example, were to introduce scalable safety nets to cover its poorest citizens, the government would see gains equaling $160 million a year. Globally, these measures combined would help countries and communities save $100 billion a year and reduce the overall impact of disasters on well-being by 20 percent.
Unbreakable also calls on governments to make critical investments in infrastructure, dikes, and other means of controlling water levels, and develop appropriate land-use policies and building regulations. These efforts must be specifically targeted to protect the poorest and most vulnerable citizens, not just those with higher-value assets.
“Countries are enduring a growing number of unexpected shocks as a result of climate change,” said Stephane Hallegatte, a GFDRR lead economist, who led preparation of the report. “Poor people need social and financial protection from disasters that cannot be avoided. With risk policies in place that we know to be effective, we have the opportunity to prevent millions of people from falling into poverty.”
Efforts to build poor people’s resilience are already gaining ground, the report shows. For example, Kenya’s social protection system provided additional resources to vulnerable farmers well before the 2015 drought, helping them prepare for and mitigate its impacts. And in Pakistan, after record-breaking floods in 2010, the government created a rapid-response cash grant program that supported recovery efforts of an estimated 8 million people, lifting many from near-certain poverty.
Unbreakable is a roadmap to help countries better adapt to climate change, and boost the resilience and prosperity of their most vulnerable citizens. By equipping the most vulnerable with the means to cope, rebuild and rebound we can increase the chance for millions to stay out of extreme poverty.
Building resilience is key to meeting the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending global poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
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A new plan to support action on climate change in the Arab World
World Bank steps up climate funding in the MENA region; target set of US$1.5 billion per year to support climate action
The World Bank Group on 15 November 2016 announced a new plan to ramp up support for countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to confront the multiple threats of climate change. Over the next four years, the MENA Climate Action Plan aims to nearly double the portion of Bank financing dedicated to climate action, taking it to around US$1.5 billion per year by 2020.
Speaking at a press conference at the COP 22 global climate summit in Marrakech, World Bank MENA Vice President Hafez Ghanem said the plan would focus on the four priorities of food and water security, sustainable cities adapted to new climate conditions, the transition to low-carbon energy, and the protection of the poorest who are most exposed to the impacts of climate change.
“Climate change will make a difficult situation much worse, and will affect millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa region,” said Ghanem, “this is especially true of the impact on scarce water resources, already the lowest in the world, which will become even scarcer, threatening critical industries such as agriculture, on which millions in poorer, rural areas depend for their livelihoods.”
Nearly two-thirds of agriculture in the MENA region relies solely on rainfall, which makes it especially vulnerable to changes in temperature and precipitation. As global temperatures rise, they will rise even faster in MENA, causing more frequent and severe droughts. The 2015 drought in Morocco destroyed over half the wheat harvest and led to a 1.5 percent drop in the country’s Gross Domestic Output. About one quarter of the region’s workforce is employed in agriculture, in Morocco it is as high as 40 percent, but as climate change impacts the sector’s ability to support livelihoods, more people will move to cities looking for work.
Apart from increased pollution and overcrowding, stepped up migration to the region’s large coastal cities exposes people to another risk: a rise in sea levels. If global temperatures get 1.5 degrees centigrade hotter, the Mediterranean is expected to rise between 0.2 and 0.5 meters, which could affect up to 25 million people between Algiers and Beirut.
“Countries in the region are aware of the challenges, and have begun taking action,” said Ghanem. “Morocco has taken steps to adapt its agriculture, with better water management and more climate-resistant crops, while also lowering its emissions by eliminating most energy subsidies and with the construction of the large solar plant at Ouarzazate. This is the kind of comprehensive climate action we will support across the region, with a special focus on the poorest and most vulnerable.”
But the challenges are enormous. Confronting climate change will require changes across all segments of society. In view of the risks and the need for action, the World Bank Group has launched a plan to help countries adapt to what is already happening and plan for what is on the horizon.
“Much can be done to adapt to the challenge of climate change,” says Ghanem.
To help countries implement their national plans, the MENA Climate Action Plan aims to nearly double the portion of Bank financing supporting climate action, which at current levels means a target of US$1.5 billion annually. The plan will focus on three core areas:
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Foster water and food security,
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Making sure cities are ready to cope with the impacts of climate change, and
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Lowering the emissions that cause global warming by improving energy efficiency and investing in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, reducing pollution from industry, transport and waste, sequestering carbon from agriculture, and investing in agro-forestry and the preservation of forests.
In all of these efforts, special attention will be given to helping the poor, who are the most vulnerable to the disruptions of global warming, and others – like coastal communities and those threatened with land degradation and desertification – whose livelihoods depend on eco-systems that will be particularly affected.
The MENA Climate Action Plan is based on a set of five commitments that draw on the Bank’s strengths in climate financing, global experience and building partnerships.
The first is to shift more of Bank financing to climate action, and the second complementary commitment is to almost double the support for adaptation to the new climate reality. This will include support for social safety nets that protect the most vulnerable to climate change, urban design and disaster preparedness that protect people and property from extreme weather and its consequences, as well as better management of natural resources, especially in vulnerable eco-systems.
The third commitment is to support the policy reforms that will lay the foundations for a green future, such as lifting costly fossil fuel subsidies that encourage inefficient use of energy, and creating the right regulations to encourage private investments in renewable energy. The fourth is to meet the costs of transitioning to green growth by using Bank programs to attract private finance, and guarantees to lower the risk for private investors. The fifth and final commitment is to build regional partnerships to develop common solutions for common challenges such as water scarcity and access to energy.
As it works to foster water and food security, the Bank will support agricultural practices, like drip irrigation, to draw less groundwater, as well as other water supply and sanitation techniques to waste less water and re-use more. First projects in Iraq and Palestine in 2017 will promote better management of water supply in low-level conflict situations while improving the quality and efficiency of water and wastewater services.
In helping to make cities more resilient, the Bank will aim to replicate its work in Morocco on disaster risk management, with the development of early warning systems, flood protection, and the introduction of national disaster risk insurance. In Beirut, a bus rapid transit project is expanding the city’s bus network and creating dedicated bus lanes, thereby reducing the need for private car use and reducing air pollution.
For thousands of years, the region has found solutions for coping with a changing climate. The potential consequences, such as increases in poverty and the reversal of development gains, are now much more severe. But there are still solutions. They will require leadership and commitment from individual countries, resources, innovation and the adoption of effective practices from around the world. The new plan will allow the Bank to channel its resources and global knowledge to help the region protect the most vulnerable and meet the challenge of climate change.
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WTO-UNCTAD launch new guide to trade policy analysis
A new book on trade policy analysis was launched on 15 November by the WTO and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). “An Advanced Guide to Trade Policy Analysis: The Structural Gravity Model” outlines one of the most successful tools for the analysis of trade policy and provides practical guidance on how to apply this tool to trade policy making.
The book is a follow-up to “A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis”, which was published in 2012. The series aims to help researchers and policy makers enhance their understanding of economic methods and data sources for trade policy analysis. Written in collaboration with academics, each book is premised on the fact that good policy making needs to be backed up by good analysis.
The need for trade policy analysis has become particularly evident in recent years as questions have been increasingly asked about whether the gains from trade exceed the costs of trade. It is important, therefore, for policy makers and others to have access to reliable information on the effects of trade policies.
The most innovative feature of the series is that it combines detailed explanation of analytical techniques with a guide to the data needed to undertake analysis. It also contains a tutorial in the form of empirical applications and exercises.
This new volume responds to requests from government officials and researchers in developing countries to extend the analysis of trade policy effects from partial to general equilibrium. This new publication focuses on the gravity model.
The gravity model is one of the most successful frameworks in economics. Hundreds of papers have used the gravity model to study and quantify the effects of various factors on international trade. This book guides the reader through the challenges of applying the model and provides recommendations on how to obtain reliable partial equilibrium estimates for the effects of trade policy.
The book extends the analysis of trade policy to a general equilibrium setting, guiding the reader through all the necessary steps and required data to undertake the analysis. The book has been written by experts who have rich practical experience in this field. The WTO and UNCTAD are particularly indebted to Professor Yoto Yotov and Professor Mario Larch, who have supported the project and developed the methodology to perform the general equilibrium analysis presented in this book.
This advanced guide is targeted at economists and policy makers with extensive experience in applied research and analysis. Readers with less experience may wish to first undertake the exercises proposed in A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis.
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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Tuesday, 15 November 2016
Starting on Thursday, in Cape Town: tralac’s roundtable A Continental Free Trade Area to support Africa’s industrial development objectives?
This will be the first of a series of roundtables on Africa’s industrialization: our aim is to support a critical and creative discourse on options for Africa’s industrialization and implications for its regional integration agenda. The speakers include UNECA’s David Luke, Manchester Trade’s Dennis Matanda, dti’s Nigel Gwynne-Evans. Download the roundtable programme (pdf). A second roundtable, to be held early in 2017, will include perspectives from the private sector across the continent.
The Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation HLM2 takes place in Nairobi, 28 November – 1 December. Download the Draft Nairobi Outcome Document (pdf).
AU Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs: ‘One-stop border posts good for trade’ (The Herald)
Speaking while officially opening an African Customs Technical meeting yesterday, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority acting commissioner general, Happias Kuzvinzwa said the one-stop border post concept will improve trade within Africa. He applauded the critical role being played by the Customs Technical Working Groups saying, this will help address issues in the Trade Facilitation Cluster of the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-African Trade. The meeting, which started yesterday and ends on Wednesday, is a precursor to the 8th Ordinary Meeting of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs which will run from Thursday-Friday under the theme, “From Barriers to Bridges — Implementing One-Stop Border Posts for Improved Trade Facilitation”. [Report, pdf: 7th Ordinary Meeting of the African Union Sub-Committee of Directors General of Customs]
Juba and Kampala sign OSBP trade deal (Africa Review)
South Sudan and Uganda have signed a One-Stop Border Post agreement to enhance trade through the efficient movement of goods, persons and services within the two partner states. South Sudan’s ambassador and Foreign Affairs undersecretary Joseph Ayok Anei, told reporters in Juba on Monday that the deal was vital, especially for South Sudan whose economy was handicapped by political instability. The agreement was inked on 8 November in Kampala by the Foreign Affairs secretaries from both sides.
In key African nations, widespread discontent with economy, corruption (Pew Research Centre)
In South Africa and Nigeria – sub-Saharan Africa’s two largest economies – economic sentiments have turned sharply negative since 2015. Around seven-in-ten South Africans and Nigerians now say their economies are in bad shape. Meanwhile, in the East African economic hub of Kenya, just over half say the same. Large majorities in all three countries consider the lack of employment opportunities a very big problem. Moreover, as a new Pew Research Center survey of these three major African nations illustrates, many believe the political and economic system is stacked against them. Political corruption – seen by many experts as a key stumbling block to a country’s development – is a major public concern. Broad majorities in all three countries name government corruption as a very big problem.
A commentary by Nedbank’s Michael Creighton: ‘Outlook for 2017: The changing dynamics of risk in sub-Saharan Africa’ (TXF News)
Does mobile money use increase firms’ investment? Evidence from enterprise surveys in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania (World Bank)
The study finds that an increase in the adoption of mobile money leads to a 16% percent increase in the probability of investment by the firm. A further in-depth analysis is conducted of the different purposes of mobile money use and their relationship with the likelihood of investment. The intensity of mobile money use by each type of purpose and the link with firms’ decision to invest is also explored. The findings have important implications for policy makers aiming to improve private investment in East Africa.
Trade costs and inclusive growth: case studies presented by WTO chair-holders (WTO)
Trade Costs and Inclusive Growth looks at how implementation of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement can help to reduce trade costs and promote growth. The publication brings together contributions from ten participants in the WTO Chairs Programme, which supports trade-related activities by academic institutions in developing countries. Profiled chapter, ‘Streamlining South Africa’s export development efforts in sub-Saharan Africa: a Decision Support Model approach’ (pdf): This chapter goes on to show how, through a recent application of the model, the DSM has revealed those South African products and services with the highest export potential in sub-Saharan Africa, while also differentiating among the various markets in terms of whether they present relatively high or relatively low barriers to market access – with a specific focus on logistical barriers (in the case of tangible goods) and market regulations (in the case of services). The practical application of the DSM outlined in this chapter serves as a case study to illustrate how the model could be applied in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa to reveal high potential (including new) export opportunities that are not too encumbered by logistical and other market access problems. Where the latter are evident, compliance with the provisions of the TFA could encourage more streamlined regulations and procedures. [The analysts: Ermie Steenkamp, Sonja Grater, Wilma Viviers]
Namibia: Trade Statistics Bulletin, 3rd Quarter 2016 (pdf, National Statistics Agency)
Namibia’s overall trade (exports + imports) hit N$40.554bn in q3-2016, this is 16.6% higher than N$34.795bn witnessed in the corresponding period of 2015, but 2% down from N$41.433bn in the previous quarter. Overall export revenue for the period under review stood at N$16.858bn while the import bill was valued at N$23.696bn, resulting in a merchandise trade deficit valued at N$6.838bn. The largest deficits in terms of important partners by value were South Africa (N$12.684bn), Bulgaria (N$0.386bn), Turkey (N$0.354bn), USA (N$0.327bn), and Peru (N$0.274bn). On the other hand, Namibia’s biggest trade surpluses were Zambia (N$1.457bn), Switzerland (N$1.414bn), Angola (N$0.901bn), Spain (N$0.769bn) and Italy (N$0.614bn).
Angola, Mozambique: Jan-Sept trade with China (McauHub)
Trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries fell by 9.61% in the period from January to September to $69.128bn, according to official Chinese figures released by the Macau Forum. Angola is second in terms of value, trading $11.786bn (-24.28%) worth of goods with China in the period, having imported goods worth $1.24bn (-57.80%) and sold goods to a value of $10.545bn (-16.47%). Mozambique’s trade with China recorded S$1.329bn (-25.68%), with China selling goods in the amount of $993m (-31.53%) and purchasing goods whose value amounted to $336m (-0.62%).
South Africa wins Offshoring Destination of the Year Award (dti)
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, has announced South Africa’s success in winning the Global Sourcing Association’s Annual Outsourcing Destination of the Year award for 2016 held in the UK. "Since 2012 the South African offshore Business Process Services market has experienced compounded average growth of 25% year-on-year and now boasts around 30000 offshore jobs, with the UK being the leading buyer of South African BPS services followed by Australia and the USA which is rapidly growing,” says Davies. The Business Process Services sector is one of the dti’s priority sectors attracting investments from English speaking markets in particular the UK, Australia and recently from the US.
SADC Ministers of Health and Ministers responsible for HIV and AIDS: communiqué (pdf, SADC)
The following are the outcomes of the Joint Ministers’ Meeting: The meeting approved, inter alia, the following reports/ documents: (i) Report on the Implementation of the SADC Protocol on Health, including Regional Minimum Standards, Frameworks and Guidelines (ii) 2016 SADC HIV and AIDS Epidemic Report (iii) Strategy for Regional Manufacturing of Essential Medicines and Health Commodities in SADC (2016-2020). The meeting further recommended, inter alia, the following: Development of a resource mobilisation roadmap to support the operationalization of the SADC Pharmaceutical Business Plan.
2016 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights: ICC calls on governments to advance human rights action plans
As the world’s largest annual gathering on business and human rights gets underway in Geneva, the International Chamber of Commerce is calling on governments to heighten efforts to develop and implement national action plans. Bringing together over 2,000 participants - including government, business, civil society and academia - the 2016 UN Forum on Business and Human Rights is a major opportunity to assess progress in relation to the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and other current business-related human rights issues.
Non-standard employment around the world: understanding challenges, shaping prospects (ILO)
The new report documents a number of different trends. In industrialized countries, part-time work falls into ‘very short hours,’ ‘on-call’ work, or ‘zero-hours’ contracts that have no minimum hour guarantee. These conditions are parallel with “casual work” in developing countries. In the United States, 10% of the workforce has irregular and on-call works schedules; those earning the least are most affected. In Bangladesh and India, almost two-thirds of wage employment is casual. One-third is casual in Mali and Zimbabwe. In Australia, where casual employment is a specific category, one in four employees is casual. ILO advocates four policy recommendations to improve the quality of non-standard jobs:
Cotton export subsidies, domestic support and market access: background paper by the WTO Secretariat
The following background paper has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat for the Committee on Agriculture Special Session – Sub-Committee on Cotton. The paper is organized in three parts, namely: export subsidies, domestic support, market access.
Drylands are key to global food security, says new IFAD report
The report, The Drylands Advantage: protecting the environment, empowering people (pdf), shows how drylands support important ecosystems and a great variety of biodiversity, as well as their vital role in the livelihoods and cultural identity of many smallholders. For example, in Swaziland, IFAD has supported communities to rehabilitate gullied land and introduce sustainable land management practices on 68,000 hectares of land, which can now generate livelihoods for people. In China’s Yanchi county, where drylands are turning to desert, farmers have increased their incomes by 20 per cent as a result of a comprehensive programme to generate alternative and sustainable livelihoods. Without this programme, desertification would likely worsen and the drylands would no longer be farmed at all.
Diamond industry NGOs offered independent funding initiative at Kimberley Process plenary (The National)
The UAE has proposed setting up permanent independent financing for non-governmental organisations in the diamond industry, and launched the fund with a US$25,000 contribution, roughly a quarter of the total estimated cost. The scheme was announced at the annual plenary meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP), the organisation that represents diamond-producing countries, the mining industry and NGOs. It was estimated at the meeting that about $105,000 per year would be required to fund the attendance of a 10-strong team of NGO representatives at key KP events throughout the year. Australia, which will chair the organisation in 2017, is expected to match the UAE’s launch sum. [UAE now the third largest exporter of diamonds]
The Tanzania Investment Forum starts tomorrow (Daily News)
Zimbabwe: IMF executive board removes remedial measures applied to Zimbabwe (IMF)
Mauritius, India sign MoU for Rs 12.7 b grant assistance for project implementation (GoM)
Liberia-UK Trade Investment Forum: 22 November (Front Page Africa)
Internet Society report identifies reasons for Africa’s low internet use
COP22: Geneva-based agencies highlight important role of trade in addressing climate change (ITC)
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Book highlights “real world” gains from Trade Facilitation Agreement
Implementation of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement would provide a huge boost to trade, foreign investment, export diversification and participation in global value chains, particularly for developing and least-developed economies, according to a WTO publication launched on 14 November 2016.
The book, Trade costs and inclusive growth: Case studies presented by WTO chair-holders, examines how the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative can assist with implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the importance of mainstreaming trade into national development strategies, and the potential impact of the TFA in various regions.
The book was launched at the opening of the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP) Annual Conference in Geneva. Initiated in 2010, the WCP aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of the multilateral trading system among academics and students in developing countries through teaching, research and outreach activities in academic institutions.
In his opening remarks at the event, WTO Deputy Director General Yi Xiaozhun noted that one important obstacle to increasing poor countries’ integration into global markets is high trade costs.
“There are many factors to high trade costs, including infrastructure deficiencies, lack of competition, etc.” DDG Yi said. “However, burdensome trade procedures appear to be a significant contributor to those costs. This suggests how important trade facilitation, and in particular the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, is to developing countries.”
While WTO economists have estimated the TFA could increase global merchandise exports by up to US$ 1 trillion per annum, with developing countries capturing more than half of the available gains, the publication acknowledges continued uncertainty among some developing countries and least-developed countries (LDCs) regarding the benefits of the Agreement.
“Our review of the economic literature on trade facilitation and the studies collected in this volume should lay to rest this uncertainty”, the editors of the book affirm. “Developing and least-developed WTO members should find plenty of useful lessons in these studies, authored by WTO chair-holders, as the research and conclusions drawn are firmly rooted in circumstances and challenges frequently encountered in the developing world.”
Particular attention is given to Africa and to Arab countries, and, “not surprisingly, the studies find that the gains that can be obtained are large,” according to the editors.
The TFA is unique in that the requirement to implement the Agreement is directly linked to each WTO member’s capacity to do so. In addition, the TFA states that assistance and support should be provided to help members achieve that capacity.
The book underlines that the readiness of the international community to provide such assistance is key in determining how speedily and fully the provisions of the TFA are realized. This point is reinforced by the studies in this book that show how Aid for Trade can and has played a catalytic role in making possible trade facilitation reforms.
It “is essential to assist developing countries, and particularly the least developed amongst them, to lower trade costs through trade policy reforms and implementation of the TFA,” assert the editors.
The TFA will enter into force once two-thirds of the WTO membership has formally accepted the Agreement. To date, 96 members have ratified, meaning that over 87 per cent of the ratifications needed for entry into force have now been received.
Cotton export subsidies, domestic support and market access: Background paper by the WTO Secretariat
The following background paper has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat for the Committee on Agriculture Special Session – Sub-Committee on Cotton
The Ministerial Decision on Cotton of 7 December 2013 (document WT/MIN(13)/41 and WT/L/916) adopted by Ministers at the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali states, inter alia that:
“5. In this context, we therefore undertake to enhance transparency and monitoring in relation to the trade-related aspects of cotton. To this end, we agree to hold a dedicated discussion on a bi-annual basis in the context of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session to examine relevant trade-related developments across the three pillars of Market Access, Domestic Support and Export Competition in relation to cotton.
6. The dedicated discussions shall be undertaken on the basis of factual information and data compiled by the WTO Secretariat from Members’ notifications, complemented, as appropriate, by relevant information provided by Members to the WTO Secretariat.
7. The dedicated discussions shall in particular consider all forms of export subsidies for cotton and all export measures with equivalent effect, domestic support for cotton and tariff measures and non-tariff measures applied to cotton exports from LDCs in markets of interest to them.”
As a result, four dedicated discussions on cotton were held in 2014 and 2015.
The Ministerial Decision on Cotton of 19 December 2015 (document WT/MIN(15)/46 and WT/L/981) adopted by Ministers at the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi states, inter alia that:
“14. We undertake to continue holding Dedicated Discussions on cotton on a bi-annual basis, as indicated in paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of the Bali Ministerial Decision on Cotton (WT/MIN(13)/41 and WT/L/916), including in particular to examine relevant trade-related developments across the three pillars of Market Access, Domestic Support, and Export Competition in relation to cotton.
15. We undertake to regularly monitor the implementation by Members of paragraphs 2 to 4 during these Dedicated Discussions on cotton, based on relevant Members’ notifications to the WTO, complemented as necessary by Members’ replies to specific requests for information from the WTO Secretariat.”
The Nairobi Ministerial Decision on Cotton also states that:
“6. The Dedicated Discussions on cotton referred to in paragraph 14 of this Decision shall continue to address the following specific elements, based on factual information and data compiled by the WTO Secretariat from Members’ notifications, complemented, as appropriate, by relevant information provided by Members to the WTO Secretariat:
(a) identification and examination of market access barriers, including tariff and non-tariff barriers for the entry of cotton produced and exported by cotton-producing LDCs;
(b) reviews of market access improvements and of any market access measures undertaken by Members, including the identification of access barriers to cotton produced and exported by cotton-producing LDCs in markets of interest to them; and
(c) examination of possible additional measures for progressive and predictable improvements in market access, in particular the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to cotton produced and exported by cotton-producing LDCs.”
The fifth dedicated discussion on cotton was held on 1st July 2016.
As requested by the Nairobi Ministerial Decision, and based on the approach resulting from the Bali Ministerial Decision, the WTO Secretariat has prepared, in advance of the sixth dedicated discussion on cotton, a revised compilation of factual information and data available from Members’ notifications and other submissions, on Market Access, Domestic Support and Export Competition in relation to cotton, received up to 18 October 2016.
Further to Members’ requests at the second dedicated discussion, this revised background paper also includes (i) Members’ responses to the questionnaire on cotton policy developments circulated on 13 September 2016; and (ii) relevant information on cotton markets and policies from Trade Policy Review reports circulated up to 18 October 2016, for the 32 Members identified in paragraphs 12 and 13 of this paper.
The paper is organized in three parts, namely:
- Export Subsidies;
- Domestic Support; and
- Market Access.
The factual information and data contained in this paper have been compiled from:
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Members’ schedules and notifications in the Market Access (MA), Domestic Support (DS) and Export Subsidies (ES) series under the Committee on Agriculture;
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Tariff data available in the WTO Integrated Database (IDB) and Consolidated Tariff Schedules Database (CTS); as well as
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Non-tariff measures available in the WTO Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP) Goods Database.
The specific sources of information for each of the areas covered are described under the relevant parts of the paper.
With regards to Export Subsidies and Domestic Support (Part one and two of the paper), factual information and data were collected for all WTO Members with relevant commitments or who have reported measures benefitting cotton in their relevant notifications.
With regards to Market Access (Part three of the paper), and based on previous practice, the list of markets of interest to LDCs was established by collecting market access data for WTO Members that are either: (i) classified as developed economies for the purpose of the WTO Secretariat note on the “Participation of Developing Economies in the Global Trading System”; (ii) amongst the top 20 cotton importing countries in quantity for the period 2010-2012; or (iii) amongst the top 20 cotton importing countries in quantity from LDCs for the period 2010-2012.
As a result, market access data are provided, in accordance with the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial Decisions on Cotton, for the following 32 Members: Australia; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Bangladesh; Brazil; Canada; China; Colombia; Egypt; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kenya; Korea, Republic of; Malaysia; Mauritius; Mexico; Morocco; New Zealand; Norway; Pakistan; Peru; Russian Federation; South Africa; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; Turkey; the United States of America and Viet Nam.
Unless otherwise indicated, the term “cotton” in this paper refers to the products covered by the Harmonized System nomenclature (HS) headings 52.01, 52.02 and 52.03.
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Report identifies reasons for Africa’s low internet use
Despite recent improvements in infrastructure and affordability, internet adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is not growing rapidly, a report says.
The report says that the continent’s internet adoption is not growing fast because potential users do not always find the internet relevant enough. According to Bastiaan Quast, co-author of the report and economics fellow of Internet Society, Africa faces challenges such as poor telecommunication systems in slums and cost of accessing the internet.
“There is very little content in local languages.… We need more (professional) content to be generated locally,” Quast tells SciDev.Net last month (20 October).
The report by the US-headquartered Internet Society was released at the African Peering and Interconnection Forum that took place on 30 August - 1 September in Tanzania.
The report says that despite in some African countries having about 90 per cent of the population living within range of a mobile internet signal, use may be 20 per cent or less in the population, thus prompting the need for the study to assess the reasons for low internet adoption.
“We used data from a number of sources. In some cases it includes all African countries,” Quast says, citing Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda as some of the countries the study explored.
The study, he says, covered the period 2012-2016.
“We relied on sources such as International Telecommunication Union and Research ICT Africa for our data,” he adds.
Millicent Ong’ondo, an internet expert who works at J.D. Rockefeller Research Library in Kenya’s Egerton University, agrees with the findings, saying most people in Africa do not conduct much research on internet issues that affect them. Thus, most people rely on what is readily available which is often not local.
“Local content would play a role mostly in uptake, but not in connectivity,” Ong’ondo explains. “Connectivity is affected by other factors like cost, literacy level and education level, cost of [mobile] phones, cost of airtime and speed of connectivity.”
According to Ong’ondo, the report could create awareness, and make institutions attend to the needs of the users and increase sharing of local content on the internet.
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COP22: Geneva-based agencies highlight important role of trade in addressing climate change
Trade is a powerful tool to lower the cost of key green technologies
Trade has an important role to play in addressing climate change and helping countries meet their commitments to the Paris Agreement, which entered into force on 4 November. This was the main message from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) at an event held on 12 November at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22). Organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP22 is taking place in Marrakesh, Morocco, between 7 and 18 November.
During the event, representatives from the three organizations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and UNFCCC negotiators discussed how countries can better use trade as a means to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Among the measures agreed upon at last year’s meeting in Paris was the need to address the socio-economic impact of climate change, taking into account the special needs of developing countries.
In response to this, the three agencies highlighted the tool box of trade measures that can enable the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. These include:
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reducing costs and deploying key climate technologies quickly to where they will have the biggest impact
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stimulating investment in energy, infrastructure, transport, information technology and other key sectors of the new climate economy
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fostering the competitive markets that encourage individuals, enterprises and entire industries to learn from past experience, innovate and do better.
Participants agreed to continue working together to help countries explore the role of trade in delivering Nationally Determined Contributions, which countries had submitted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The participants also resolved to explore the complementary benefits of trade and climate policies, for example in lowering air pollution.
Bonapas Onguglo, Head of the Trade Analysis Branch in the Division of International Trade in Goods, Services and Commodities, said: “Trade can help meet the shared challenge of economic diversification. Trade provides the most direct route for transferring innovations from market to market and especially into the developing world. Trade can help generate employment, which is an important policy goal for many developing countries.”
Aik Hoe Lim, Director of the WTO’s Trade and Environment Division, said: “Trade is a powerful tool to lower the cost of key green technologies, and to help their quick and large scale deployment to where they are needed. Over 40 WTO members are currently negotiating an Environmental Goods Agreement that seeks to eliminate tariffs on a broad range of environmental goods, while creating opportunities for new jobs and economic diversification. This is just one example of how the WTO supports sustainable development in its day-to-day work.”
Anders Aeroe, Director of Markets and Institutions at ITC, said: “Trade has an important role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and helping developing countries and their small, medium sized enterprises (SMEs) address the impact of climate change. Trade enables low-cost deployment of climate-friendly and sustainable technology and builds economic diversification. Through climate-proofed Aid for Trade, ITC will continue to support inclusive and environmentally sustainable trade for developing countries and their SMEs.”
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The African Union Commission’s Africa Business Directory: Toward the facilitation of growth, partnership and global inclusion
The African Union is rapidly increasing its partnerships with global regional and leading country partners, while simultaneously developing and promoting strategic sector plans for inclusive and catalytic growth in important economic areas such as: agriculture, mining, infrastructure and manufacturing.
At the same time, the continent’s supreme policy making body is also becoming more and more of an advocate for domestic private sector growth and seeking to pursue greater public-private sector collaboration and to stimulate increased intra-African trade and investment.
To support these efforts, this inaugural African Union Business Directory is intended to serve as a useful reference for both public sector policy-makers and private sector decision makers, within Africa, and outside of Africa. The aim is to help familiarize readers with key AU policies, the goals and structure of key AU partnership initiatives, and to provide contact information on key private sector enterprises (both domestic and multinational) across Africa.
The publication’s structure includes five key sections:
Section 1 – Africa’s Expanding Economy provides an overview of some of the developments in Africa that make the continent one of the leading global investment destinations for the future: a population that will more than double by 2040; rapid urbanization and increasing per capita GDP and aggregate GDP; attractive investment returns; arable land and an improving governance and general business environment.
Section 2 – Key Pillars of Africa’s Economic Growth Policy Agenda offers a review of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), the African Mining Vision (AMV), the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), and the Accelerating Industrial Development in Africa initiative (AIDA). These programs are today shaping and driving key strategic initiatives on the continent and provide the private sector with a bouquet of sector focused areas within which to pursue public-private partnership – with many incentives for mutual benefit.
Section 3 – Strategic African Economic Partnerships introduces readers to some of the leading partnerships that Africa has entered into over the past twenty years. Focused on facilitating collaboration in areas such as peace and security, technology transfer, health, education, training and skills development, trade, investment and political partnership and voting alignment within global organs such as the United Nations and the Bretton Woods financial architecture (World Bank and International Monetary Fund), these African partnerships exist with both regions and countries. Thus, the Directory provides insight into the Africa-EU Partnership, the Africa-South America Partnership, the Africa-Arab League Partnership as well as country partnerships that have emerged with Japan, China, India, the United States, South Korea and Turkey.
Section 4 – AU Leading Companies Directory provides readers with useful background and contact information (noted by sector and headquarters country) on over 400 of Africa’s leading corporations. The aim is to offer AU policy makers, bilateral and multilateral development partners, and readers more broadly the ability to engage with these institutions, to learn more about them, and to see them as important potential stakeholders in Africa’s development agenda as partners in initiative/ project development and implementation, counsel on how these initiatives can stimulate and accelerate domestic private sector growth and development – and related job creation, and strategic resources for technical assistance and shared-risk funding.
Lastly, Section 5 – African Country Economic Profiles provides short profiles on each of the countries of the African Union, and in particular the economic opportunities that each has to offer, including leading components of their respective economies, various statistical indices and an economic overview.
In years to come the hope is that this Directory will become an important and valued connector – within the African Union, within its partnership relations and among and between companies, currently and/or prospectively, active in the economies of Africa.
» Download: The African Union Commission’s Africa Business Directory (PDF, 4.93 MB)
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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Monday, 14 November 2016
Analysts recommend African Marshall Plan (DW)
A study by the Club of Rome think tank and the Senate of the Economy (Senat der Wirtschaft) business network is calling for a 120 billion euro ($130 billion) stimulus package from Germany to increase economic growth in Africa, generate wealth for the continent’s growing population and create jobs for its youth. "Germany is currently only spending 2 euros per head in Africa on development issues," said Franz Josef Radermacher, president of the Senate of the Economy, while presenting the joint study to German Minister of Eonomic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller in Berlin on Friday. The study proposes that a share of the funds required could be raised on capital markets, with the German government providing guarantees for investors. Other European countries would top up Germany’s 120 billion euro capital injection, the study suggests. [Download: Ein Marshall Plan mit Afrika]
ATPC, IDEP launch new training program on trade, gender and development (UNECA)
Aimed at middle and senior level officials in trade ministries across the continent, the course provided insights on the complex linkages between trade, gender and development and an overview of the policy responses to overcome gender imbalances in trade outcomes. For many participants, the course was the first opportunity to engage with gender questions in an in-depth way and it came at a crucial moment since negotiations for the CFTA are currently underway. A total of 25 officials from 15 Anglophone African countries completed the course. The next session of the course is planned for 2017 and will target Francophone African countries.
David Primack: ‘Services trade data – a fundamental roadblock to negotiations and policy-making to support structural transformation’ (ODI)
The relative paucity of services and services trade data has contributed to obscuring the role that services have increasingly been playing, alongside agriculture and manufacturing, in the process of structural transformation. While emerging research such as ODI’s Supporting Economic Transformation initiative and WIDER’s Industries Without Smokestacks project is helping to advance a more analytically rigorous understanding of the interactions different service sectors have in the transformation process, such efforts continue to be hampered by a number of services-specific data limitations. Unlike trade in goods, where a single document provides an internationally recognised product code and an indication of the country of origin and destination, as well as a transaction value, collecting service trade statistics is a highly subjective undertaking, prone to inaccuracies and a general dearth of availability. This is particularly the case for LICs, though the challenges prevail in other developing and even developed countries. These challenges are directly related to the nature of services trade and the absence of a physical item (and/or sometimes a payment) crossing a border where national authorities can track, count and record it.
Maya Forstater: ‘Illicit flows and trade misinvoicing – are we looking under the wrong lamppost?’ (CMI)
Challenging these estimates is not an argument for no action on illicit flows, nor is it a quest for impossible accuracy, but it is an urgent call for a more realistic conversation that draws in the expertise of revenue authorities, statistical agencies, customs agencies, law enforcement and businesses, as well as experts in natural resource governance and organised crime. There are four areas which are particularly relevant: [A response by GFI’s Matthew Salomon]
Zama Nkosi: ‘Africa cannot trade its way to an industrial revolution’ (Business Day)
Though it is important to participate in the global trade system and ensure progress on intra-African trade, the emphasis should be on the pace of technological advancement. This should particularly be the case in agriculture, a sector responsible for more than half of the employment and one-fifth of the gross domestic product in Sub-Saharan Africa. Such advances would constitute the foundations upon which trade can work for African citizens and economies. If not, the continental trade agenda could become a vacuous policy that does not meet expectations and produce results that enhance structural transformation. [Richard Munang, Robert Mgendi: Optimizing African food systems]
Peter Eigen: an update on the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (WEF)
The governments of Mauritania, the Seychelles, and others understand this better than anybody, of course, which is why they have been helping to establish the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) since early 2015, an initiative to protect fish stocks through the twin principles of transparency and participation. The FiTI is a global multi-stakeholder initiative, in which countries seek to shed a light on access to fish resources – who has access, what are the (financial) conditions, and how much is extracted? Answering these important questions in a deliberative process will help countries to improve governance in this crucial sector for the benefit of their citizens. The FiTI is gathering steam.
EACJ now to deal with trade, investment cases (IPPMedia)
This is in line with a directive by the 16th ordinary sitting of the summit of EAC council of ministers that met in February this year. Speaking at the weekend, the registrar of the Arusha-based court, Yufnalis Okubo, said the summit had extended the regional court’s jurisdiction to allow it to cover regional trade and investment, among other issues. “We hope there will be an increase in cases filed concerning trade aspects as the EAC common market protocol is in its implementation stage,” Okubo said. According to the registrar, the court will later this month hear a case challenging all EAC partner states against signing the Economic Partnership Agreement and seeking to convince members who haven’t signed, not to sign.
Realising the ECOWAS regional electricity market: conference alert
Major players in the electricity sector in West Africa will meet in the Burkinabe capital of Ouagadougou on 16 November to push forward the agenda of the proposed regional electricity market. ERERA Chairman Honore Bogler said electricity regulation remained largely unknown to West African authorities, while the forum can enable regulators to convince policy makers that electricity regulation was the best way to addressing many power challenges in Africa.
Pointe Noire - Brazzaville highway opens Congo up for sub-regional trade (Africa News)
The previously abandoned road connecting the Republic of Congo’s capital, Brazzaville to its port city Pointe Noire has become a major route for the transportation of goods and people within Congo as well as within the central Africa region. The road had been neglected in favour of a rail line which connected the country’s north and south. An estimated 300 vehicles including trucks with loads of up to 50 tons use the highway daily.
Zuma calls for SADC special summit on drought
IGAD establishes a Sectoral Ministerial Committee on Migration: IGAD Ministerial declaration (pdf, IGAD)
EAC-USAID hold technical bilateral meeting on sidelines of COP22
EAC foreign affairs ministers back Amina Mohamed for AU post (Daily Nation)
Zambia: 2017 National Budget speech by Finance Minister Felix Mutati (MoF)
Total export earnings declined in the first nine months of 2016 compared with the corresponding period in 2015. Earnings from copper fell to $3.2bn from US$4 billion. Non-traditional export earnings declined to $1.3bn from US$1.6bn. This out turn was mainly explained by unfavourable international commodity prices. On international trade: We need to prioritise international trade as a tool for attaining inclusive growth and development. In 2017, Government will: (i) Operationalise the Bilateral Trade Agreements with the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Peoples Republic of Angola; (ii) Provide for advance ruling on rules of origin for goods originating from countries with which Zambia has signed trade agreements. These include SADC and COMESA member states as well as India and China; (iii) Implement a Single Window platform for various border agencies to enhance trade facilitation; and (iv) Establish trade centres at the borders of our major non-traditional export markets beginning with Kasumbalesa, Kipushi and Chirundu.
Zimbabwe: $11bn projects dead in the water (Sunday Mail)
Government departments and agencies whose mandate is to lure foreign direct investment are fretting over one key statistic: of the $12,6bn worth of investment proposals approved between 2011 and 2015, only investments valued at $2,1bn have taken off. Figures from the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, a statutory body mandated to attract domestic and foreign investment, show that in 2011 the country approved investments worth $6,6bn but realised only $387m in actual business. In 2012, the project approvals fell to $930m, and $400m translated into actual investment. Proposals dropped further to $686m in 2013, of which $400m was realised. Proposals topped $1,1bn in 2014, but there has only been movement in projects worth half the value. It was the same last year when ZIA approved investments worth $3,2bn — excluding the $3bn proposed investments by Nigerian billionaire Mr Aliko Dangote. Actual investments did not exceed $421m. Between January and August 2016, approvals fell to $452m. Though FDI has underperformed across Africa in line with slowing global economic growth, inflows into Zimbabwe are relatively underwhelming. [PPC: High manufacturing costs impede competitiveness]
Mauritius: Workshop explores sustainable growth opportunities for Mauritian entrepreneurs in Africa (GoM)
Targeting businessmen and entrepreneurs, the workshop covered business opportunities in Africa, challenges faced by local businessmen as well as methods of market entry. Participants were given an overview of several countries in Africa. Discussions included a contextual analysis of the continent as well as Africa’s political and economic background. Presentations were made on the political and economic backgrounds of the different countries. The most prospective countries that are suitable for Mauritian firms were also identified along with the types and categories of businesses that will be most suitable for operations in Africa. The Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives, Mr Sunil Bholah, recalled that the 2016-2017 Budget advocates to continue building on the Africa strategy where Mauritius has made concrete progress in the past year, with the signing of agreements with Senegal, Madagascar and Ghana for the establishment and management of Special Economic Zones.
Mozambique’s exports to the US: private sector identifies trade barriers (Club of Mozambique)
Fumane said that the US was willing to support the Mozambican private sector in removing barriers in order to increase in the volume of exports. US African Export and Administration Policy coordinator, Florizelle Liser, reaffirmed the US Government’s willingness to support the Mozambican private sector, noting that Mozambique had many products that it could export to the US duty-free but was not taking the opportunity. As a result, she said: “We had a meeting to see what we could do with the Mozambican government and private sector in order to increase the levels of trade relations.” A day before the meeting with the private sector the US representative met members of the Mozambican government to define a joint action plan aimed at promoting American investment in Mozambique and increasing trade between the two countries.
Tanzania does SDGs justice by engaging in Food Trade ESA (IPPMedia)
As one of the United Nations member countries, Tanzania is both supposed and expected to make sure that it meets the SDGs. It is already doing so by engaging and participating in a wide range of regional and other partnerships, one being the Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa (Food Trade ESA) programme. Food Trade ESA has been set up primarily to facilitate the demands of SDG No. 2 – where the target is finding a sustainable solution to world hunger in all its forms and achieve food security in the world by 2030. Phrased a bit differently, the aim is to ensure that everyone everywhere has enough quality food to lead a healthy life. The promotion of sustainable agriculture is expected to improve the productivity and boost the incomes of small-scale farmers, in part through easier availability of land, technology and markets, all guaranteeing sustainable food production. This would be in line with the dreams of those who rooted for the birth of the national initiative known as Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture as Priority Number One).
Universality and the SDGs: a business perspective (SDG Fund)
This report is based on interviews and input from private sector leaders through workshops in Africa, Latin America, Europe and the United States, with more than 100 firms representing various regions and industry sectors. The year-long series of workshops and interactive discussions provided valuable insight in to how companies were working to address the new set of goals. It also suggests many firms are working in the areas of SDGs, yet their work is not always linked to the goals or articulated as such. [Private investment facilitation in fragile situations: EOI for long term consultancy (AfDB)]
South Africa Botswana Bi-National Commission: joint communiqué
Egypt: IMF approves $12bn extended arrangement under Extended Fund Facility
Uganda promotes bankable investment projects in China (Daily Monitor)
East Africa attracts Sh78bn mergers (Business Daily)
Kenya: Govt to revive cotton industry, Agriculture CS Bett says (Daily Nation)
Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum: The day for 1000 African entrepreneurs (Premium Times)
Jan Hoffmann: ‘We have a new geography of trade’
DRC: UNSC delegation calls for consensual, inclusive electoral calendar
Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index: download the latest report
Open Britain: Hard Brexit will lead to £1.2bn bombshell for British businesses
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Analysts recommend African Marshall Plan
The United States helped to rebuild Europe after World War Two. Germany’s development minister wants a similar initiative to kick-start African development.
A study by the Club of Rome think tank and the Senate of the Economy (Senat der Wirtschaft) business network is calling for a 120 billion euro ($130 billion) stimulus package from Germany to increase economic growth in Africa, generate wealth for the continent’s growing population and create jobs for its youth.
“Germany is currently only spending 2 euros per head in Africa on development issues,” said Franz Josef Radermacher, president of the Senate of the Economy, while presenting the joint study to German Minister of Eonomic Cooperation and Development, Gerd Müller in Berlin on Friday.
“That means that we have to dramatically increase the financial resources we’re spending,” Radermacher said.
The study proposes that a share of the funds required could be raised on capital markets, with the German government providing guarantees for investors. Other European countries would top up Germany’s 120 billion euro capital injection, the study suggests.
“The funds could kick-start the production of wealth on the continent if we use the funds wisely, especially for the development of infrastructure and the industrial sector,” added Radermacher, who coordinated the study.
The study notes Africa’s enormous potential in areas such as agriculture and renewable energy. It calls for the construction of solar power stations in Africa which would not only create jobs, but also solve the continent’s persistent power problems.
The study also recommends the extension of humanitarian programs for refugees and internal displaced persons.
Germany’s development minister Gerd Müller has repeatedly touted the idea of a Marshall plan to reduce Africa’s dramatic poverty levels.
The original Marshall plan, a United States’ initiative to rebuild Europe’s shattered economies after World War II, included loans, grants and other assistance worth $14 billion.
Fighting poverty in Africa with an initiative similar to the Marshall plan was more than just a moral obligation, the German development said at the presentation of the study.
‘No new neocolonialism’
“We have to invest in these countries, we have to give people perspectives. Otherwise we won’t just have hundreds of thousands but millions of people fleeing their countries in a few decades,” he said.
Müller insisted that the plan would not be yet another Western development initiative which ignored Africa’s needs and interests, a criticism often levelled against Western development programs by both African and European experts.
“It’s about strengthening and developing Africa’s own potential. It’s not about us going to Africa with our plans and our finances and saying that’s how it has got to be done. There will be no new neocolonialism, Müller said.
While Germany’s government would work on new mechanisms to safeguard investment in Africa countries, African countries would have to contribute by improving the climate for investment, promoting good governance and fighting corruption, Müller said.
“African countries must ensure reliability and uphold the principle of legal certainty,” Müller said.
Is the plan going to become reality?
Despite the minister’s promise to present his vision for a Marshall plan for Africa in the near future, it is unclear whether the plan will ever materialize.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected the idea of an African Marshall plan. During a visit to Niger last month, she told President Mahmadou Issoufou that the conditions prevailing in Africa today “were totally different to those in Europe after World War II.”
There is also another factor. 2017 will be an election year in Germany. Campaigning is likely to be dominated by domestic terrorism worries, pensions and the rising cost of health care. It is therefore unlikely that the government will devote time to a policy initiative on a different, if not distant, continent in the foreseeable future.