International economy and trade
[VIDEO] Exclusive interview with the new Secretary General of the ACP group, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni
The Cotonou agreement governs relations between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states and the EU – and it will expire in 2020. It is a framework concerning political dialogue, development cooperation and trade, but thanks to the success of these three ‘pillars’ and a changing international landscape, the relationship has cause for some readjustment. In this video the new Secretary General of the Group underlines the self-reflection currently taking place within the ACP, as it looks for a different approach to Europe. A recent ECDPM/German Development institute paper has set out reasons to ...
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The impact of European Commission support to private sector development (PSD)? We’re still none the wiser
Bruce Byiers blogs about an evaluation that is heavy in terms of pages, but light on recommendations With ever-increasing pressure for donors to “show impact” for their aid programmes, there was a lot of interest in last week’s presentation of the Evaluation of EC Support to Private Sector Development in Third Countries from 2004 to 2010. But what can the European Commission (EC) actually take from this evaluation? The report estimates that the EC spent €2.4bn directly on PSD over the period (plus €4.5bn if you count indirect support through general budget support and the ...
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The EU is eager to conclude trade agreements with Africa…but at what costs? After over 10 years, the EU has gotten tired of seemingly endless negotiations and is eager to move on. The European Union (EU) has given African and Pacific countries until 1 October 2014 to complete new trade agreements between the two, or ratify existing ones, if they don’t want their exports the risk facing higher restrictions to the European market. While the negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) are in a stalemate, the EU has engaged in a number of bilateral ...
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Currently there are different stories trying to grasp the dynamic taking place on the African continent On the one hand, there is a positive narrative saying the continent is on the rise. The Economist in 2000 called it the ‘hopeless continent’. Now the story is of hopefulness: they recently devoted a special issue called The Hopeful Continent showing trends towards better governance, economic growth and improving living standards. Not everyone agrees, however. In reaction to the idea of hopeful Africa, Rick Rowden countered with an article called The Myth of Africa’s Rise, in Foreign Policy ...
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There are two stories about Africa’s relationship with China The most recurring one claims that Africa is madly in love with China, but that it needs to ‘get real’ and to ‘wake up’ from this unsustainable ‘romance’. The second asserts that Africans are actually allergic to Chinese presence on the continent and that they prefer to stay away from this exploitative partner. Well, frankly both stories are getting a bit old. The Africa of today is neither heads over heals for China, nor does it have an aversion to it. It is in fact increasingly ...
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Barriers to trade in agricultural goods: let’s focus on solutions, not on problems
Account of the “Food Across Borders” conference in West Africa West Africa has far-reaching commitments to promote intra-regional trade. The Economic Community of West African States’ trade liberalization scheme, launched back in 1990, provides for the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers between the region’s 15 member states. Also the regional agricultural policy, adopted in 2005, reflects this ambition, the regionalization of agricultural and food products is at its core. Both frameworks should contribute to food sovereignty and food security in West Africa, particularly through enhanced cross-border trade between food abundant and food deficit areas. ...
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Reflections from the Annual General Assembly of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development No doubt certain countries in the world, especially those in Africa, need to gain more reliable access to food in order to fight hunger. No doubt this requires increasing production and productivity in agriculture, as well as better integration of regional agricultural markets. No doubt the role of donors in supporting such efforts is important. But is food security just about producing more food, or about eating well? Are policy makers asking the ‘right questions’? Donors working on food security met ...
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The OECD hosted the 2013 Policy Dialogue on Aid for Trade last week to discuss “how to continue delivering aid for trade results in a changing international environment for trade and development”. While this in part retread old ground, discussions nonetheless suggested that a change in thinking is taking place, particularly in terms of working with the private sector and helping developing country companies enter into global value chains. As my colleague Dan Lui discussed in a previous blog, the Aid for Trade agenda has faced a constant stream of questions, among others about definition ...
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Talking about the impact of private sector for development, are we using the same language?
A whole new range of actors is placing private sector development centre of their attention and operations. While a wider set of players can provide significant strength and dynamic to any activity, it also brings confusion and incoherence. A useful first step would be to get a better common understanding of the actual impacts of private development activities, to define different measurement tools, and to reflect on their implications for policy. ECDPM with TraidCraft, DCED and BUSINESSEUROPE organised an informal multi-stakeholder meeting in Brussels in last December to highlight and share the different views of ...
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Trade ministers and officials from South and North, academics, and donors will gather at the OECD in Paris next week for a policy dialogue to discuss the future of the Aid for Trade initiative. Conceived in 2005 in the context of the WTO Doha Round, Aid for Trade aims to improve the trading prospects of developing countries through targeting aid to this sector. In the seven years since its launch, there has already been a fair amount of navel-gazing amongst policymakers on questions of how to ‘operationalise’ such a broad and ambitious agenda. In the ...
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