Nontariff barriers Africa faces : what did the Uruguay Round accomplish, and what remains to be done?

Nontariff barriers Africa faces : what did the Uruguay Round accomplish, and what remains to be done? PDF Author: Azita Amjadi
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Nontariff barriers Africa faces : what did the Uruguay Round accomplish, and what remains to be done?

Nontariff barriers Africa faces : what did the Uruguay Round accomplish, and what remains to be done? PDF Author: Azita Amjadi
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Nontariff Barriers Africa Faces: What Did the Uruguay Round Accomplish, and What Remains to be Done?

Nontariff Barriers Africa Faces: What Did the Uruguay Round Accomplish, and What Remains to be Done? PDF Author: Alexander Yeats
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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March 1995 Perhaps the major accomplishment of the Uruguay Round is agreements reached on nontariff barriers (NTBs). All NTBs imposed under the Multifiber Arrangement (MFA) will be phased out over 10 years, and all voluntary export restraints will be abolished. OECD countries' NTBs on agricultural goods will be converted to tariffs and then reduced by an average of 36 percent. Agreement was also reached on limiting subsidies and other agricultural export incentives. As a result, the profile of OECD nontariff protection Africa faces will change dramatically. Formerly, about 11 percent of all Sub-Saharan Africa exports encountered NTBs; now this ratio will fall to about 2 percent. Formerly, 83 percent of Reunion's pre-Uruguay Round exports were affected by NTBs; now none will. Some African countries, however, will be largely unaffected by the Uruguay Round's accomplishments. No NTBs on energy products were liberalized so coverage ratios for Angola, Congo, ad Nigeria are still high - but the measures applied (largely quantitative restrictions and special import charges) apparently do not raise the cost of imports significantly. The exclusion of fish from the agreement on agriculture also limited the potential benefits to countries like the Seychelles. Others simply faced no (or few) nontariff restrictions before the negotiations. The new developments are regarded as positive for developing countries as a group, although some countries may incur losses. Trade in textiles and clothing has been closely regulated for three decades through MFA quotas. Phasing these restrictions out will subject African countries to aggressive international competition. Whether they can maintain a viable textile and clothing export sector depends on whether they can achieve reforms aimed at cost-cutting. The MFA liberalization is heavily backloaded, with roughly half the restrictions being removed at the end of 10 years, so there is ample time for adjustment. Africa should also face more vigorous competition on footwear and ferrous metals when voluntary restraints on some other developing countries are lifted. Any losses in market share that may occur, however, may not reflect welfare changes, especially if African exports were heavily subsidized. Agriculture could also be harmed unless appropriate domestic policies are adopted. The tariffication (and reduction) of NTBs, along with limits on export subsidies, could raise international prices on some staples, which would hurt net food importers. Reforms to ensure that prices paid to domestic producers increase in line with international prices (thus stimulating a local supply response) could limit increases in the food import bill. In the post-Uruguay Round world, it is increasingly important to remove domestic constraints that prevent local producers from taking full advantage of new export opportunities. Unfinished business includes further initiatives needed to address NTBs on fish, chemicals and energy products which the Round bypassed. Stricter regulations on safeguards and the use of antidumping duties are also needed to ensure that these measures are not substituted for those eliminated. But much of the unfinished business involves domestic reform needed to ensure that African countries can react to new export opportunities and competitive challenges.

Nontariff Barriers Africa Faces

Nontariff Barriers Africa Faces PDF Author: Alexander J. Yeats
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Perhaps the major accompl ...

Africa and the World Trading System

Africa and the World Trading System PDF Author: T. Ademola Oyejide
Publisher: Africa World Press
ISBN: 9781592211333
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
This three-volume set presents the results of a research project initiated by the African Economic Research Consortium. The project intended to identify and examine the critical analytical and policy issues involved in Africa's economic links with the rest of the world, particularly in the context of the emerging global trading system. The project had two distinct but closely related component parts. The first was based on empirical, region-wide analysis and was designed to provide the framework for the menu of issues explored.

Did Domestic Policies Marginalize Africa in International Trade?

Did Domestic Policies Marginalize Africa in International Trade? PDF Author: Alexander J. Yeats
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821336694
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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World Bank Technical Paper No. 344. Presents and analyzes a wealth of data on levels of and trends in health status, delivery of services, and financing in each of the former Soviet states of Central Asia. The paper examines health care reform from the perspectives of macroeconomic constraints, the demographic and epidemiological transitions facing each country, the underlying structure and financing of their health systems, and what they have inherited from the old Soviet system.

Africa's Role in Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Africa's Role in Multilateral Trade Negotiations PDF Author: Zhen Kun Wang
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Africa, Sub-Saharan
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Did External Barriers Cause the Marginalization of Sub-Saharan Africa in World Trade?

Did External Barriers Cause the Marginalization of Sub-Saharan Africa in World Trade? PDF Author: Azita Amjadi
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Urban Management Programme Paper No. 20. Reviews the specific actions that municipalities and city governments may take in contributing to urban poverty reduction. The paper highlights example of issues, options, and constraints that urban governments must address in fighting poverty. It focuses on municipalities and other city-level government entities as a critical institutional level of intervention. Other language editions available: French--Stock No. 13814 (ISBN 0-8213-3814-5); English--Stock No. 13716 (ISBN 0-8213-3716-5).

Effects of Globalization on Developing Countries

Effects of Globalization on Developing Countries PDF Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821332856
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Abstract: This year's study focuses on the effects of globalization on developing countries and the growing divide between fast and slow-integrating economies. The pace of global economic integration continues to accelerate dramatically. In the ten years from 1985 to 1994, the ratio of world trade to GDP rose three times faster than during the previous decade. During this same ten-year period, foreign direct investment (FDI) doubled as a share of global GDP. Developing countries also participated extensively in the acceleration of global integration. A closer look, however, reveals sharp disparities between countries. Though developing countries in the aggregate kept pace with the world rate of trade integration, the ratio of trade to GDP actually fell in some 44 out of 93 developing countries in the last ten years. There were similar disparities in the distribution of FDI: two-thirds of total FDI went to just eight developing countries; half received little or none. This trend is likely to continue. Projections indicate that trade and investment will accelerate in those countries which open up to the global economy, and stay stagnant in those that do not. At the same time, there has never been a better time for developing countries to integrate. Projected generally favorable conditions in the global economy, including stable energy prices, low interest rates and inflation, and improved communications and transportation technology, have created an environment conducive to market liberalization. Moreover, traditional obstacles to developing country integration, such as high tariff barriers, are falling rapidly. Many developing countries in every part of the world have successfully pursued policies of greater openness to the global economy, and there is much to learn from their experience. The report documents the evidence, provides case study analyses, and makes recommendations about best-practice approaches to market liberalization, especially in the areas of trade and commodities. For many developing countries, successful globalization depends on fundamental economic reform, requiring difficult policy decisions that often lead to real short-term dislocation. These costs must be acknowledged from the outset, and the effects carefully taken into account in the design of the programs. But the costs are manageable. In fact, openness to external trade and investment is often the necessary first step to solid, sustainable economic development.

Have Transport Costs Contributed to the Relative Decline of African Exports?

Have Transport Costs Contributed to the Relative Decline of African Exports? PDF Author: Azita Amjadi
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Exports
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Net Gains

Net Gains PDF Author: Carolyn Deere
Publisher: IUCN
ISBN: 9782831704890
Category : Bæredygtig udvikling
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
Discusses the linkages between trade, environment and sustainable development in the marine capture fisheries sector.