Intra-African trade restrictions impact regional trade cooperation: report says

Abstract

Countries should correct systemic restrictions on the length of intra-African export relationships in order to deepen regional trade cooperation among African countries, says a paper presented today at the African Economic Conference which opened in Kigali on Tuesday. During a discussion led by Dr. Adam Elhiraika, Chief of the Macroeconomic Section at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the author of the paper, Dr. Dick Nuwamanya Kamuganga of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva) outlined some of the restrictions, according to ECA’s Information and Communication Service. These include trade costs, negative policy shocks, informational and bureaucratic frictions as well as institutional weakness, he said. “I also find evidence that financial depth, poor institutions and conflicts do increase hazard rates for African exports”, he added. The paper argues that, because” sustainable export expansion is a key priority for all African countries to achieve sustainable economic growth”; regional trade cooperation initiatives in Africa have non‐negligible effects on enhancing Africa’s export survival.