The Free Trade Area of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa

The Free Trade Area of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa PDF

Author: Victor Murinde

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-05-15

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1351889400

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In the last ten years, while GATT and (later) WTO were actively advocating the doctrine of free trade, the world witnessed unprecedented formation of regional trading blocs. Focusing on the prospects and challenges of the free trade area of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the question of regional trade integration, the book also combines in-depth theoretical and empirical analysis with leading edge discussion of institutional and policy issues from a variety of African economies. This text makes a timely contribution not only to our understanding of the prospects and challenges of regional trading arrangements in Africa but also to the paradigm of regional trade integration in developing countries. Systematically structured, with thematically linked chapters and rigorous referencing, it is an essential guide for an international audience of academics, researchers, students and practitioners in International Trade, International Economics, Development Finance and Development Economics.

Compliance with International Trade Obligations

Compliance with International Trade Obligations PDF

Author: Henry Mutai

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789041126641

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This important new book deals with the formation and regulation of regional trade agreements in the context of the WTO legal regime and Eastern and Southern African countries, specifically those nations that make up the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Despite a poor track record, regional integration has for a long time been, and remains, the preferred path to economic development and poverty alleviation among developing countries in Africa. Regional integration undoubtedly holds great promise for developing nations in Africa. Many African countries stand to gain from pooling their meager resources and thus being able to participate more meaningfully in the international arena. However, the rhetoric surrounding integration has not been matched by actions and the record of trade liberalization has been weak. Substantive action appears to be taking a back seat to formal statements and declarations. This book consequently addresses four related critical issues: (1) compliance with rules and regime design, (2) the relationship between regionalism and multilateralism, (3) the legal regime created by Article XXIV and the Enabling Clause of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and (4) the COMESA legal regime. Product highlights Provides readers with expert perspective on regional trade agreements, an area of growing concern to practitioners, academics, and government officials. Will squarely address a current lack of actionable analysis, applying an international relations perspective to the analysis of regional trade integration.

COMESA and SADC

COMESA and SADC PDF

Author: Gavin Grant Maasdorp

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13:

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Economic integration in Eastern and Southern Africa made notable progress in 2000, the year ending with the establishment of a new free trade area (FTA) and the first steps towards the ultimate establishment of another. The FTA of the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) saw the abolition of tariffs in the broader region for the first time since the dissolution both of the Federation of the Rhodesias and Nyasaland and of the East African Community in the 1960s and 1970s respectively. The FTA came into operation just two months after the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had begun implementing tariff reductions which will lead to its FTA in 2008. This issue of Trade Hot Topics discusses the current situation in these two regional groupings, and their approach to forthcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations and the proposed Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU.

Assessing Regional Integration in Africa V

Assessing Regional Integration in Africa V PDF

Author:

Publisher: UN

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13:

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The fifth of the series (ARIA/V) has come at a time of renewed enthusiasm for shortening the period of the vision of the Abuja Treaty. Its overall objective is to provide an analytical research publication that defines frameworks for African Governments, the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities, towards accelerating the establishment of the African Common Market through: the speedy removal of all tariff and non-tariff barriers, obstacles to free movement of people, investments and factors of production in general across Africa, and through fast-tracking the creation of an African continental Free Trade Area

Common Market for Eastern and Southern African Countries

Common Market for Eastern and Southern African Countries PDF

Author: Luwam Dirar

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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The preferential trade agreement of Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) was formed in 1982 with the objective of achieving deeper integration. In 1994 COMESA member states agreed to form a free trade agreement. The free trade agreement came into effect after nine member states ratified it. In 2004, Rwanda and Burundi joined the free trade agreement and increased the membership size to 11. In 2009 COMESA was transformed into a customs union. The purpose of the article is to analyse how formation of the COMESA customs union affects the current state of multiplicity of membership in Southern and Eastern African countries. The article argues that multiplicity of membership hinders deeper integration. Based on the assumption that deeper regional integration can play a role in the development project of Eastern and Southern African countries, the article tries to make a cursory review of the overlap of membership among COMESA, Southern African Development Community (SADC), Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and East African Community (EAC) states. It tries to draw policy choices of the way forward to end the multiplicity of membership. The analysis of this article is based on the percentile of each member state's rate of export. It is not a percentile of the total regional exports. Not all COMESA member states have been analysed in this article. The article mainly focuses on those COMESA member states that treat COMESA as their main trading block in Africa and that also have multiple memberships in SADC, SACU and EAC.