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Focus

Focus. Regionalism and North Africa. RTAs and Regionalism. There has been a proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) RTAs are the mechanism through which regional integration is advanced Bilateral, sub-regional, regional and inter-regional scales

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Focus

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  1. Focus Regionalism and North Africa

  2. RTAs and Regionalism There has been a proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) • RTAs are the mechanism through which regional integration is advanced • Bilateral, sub-regional, regional and inter-regional scales • North-North, North-South and South-South in scope

  3. Types of exchange in RTAs • Merchandise (movement of goods) Preferential tariffs, harmonised external tariffs • Services (movement of labour) Facilitated temporary immigration, mutual recognition, harmonised standards • Investment (movement of capital) Privatisation, regulatory reform, competition policy ‘Shallow integration’ ‘Deep integration’

  4. Within the region (regional i.e., intra-regional) Scales of exchange • With other countries / regions (inter-regional) • With the world (multilateral) ... MTS (i.e., WTO) ‘Wide Integration’ ‘Open Regionalism’

  5. Investment Level of liberalisation Services Merchandise What level of liberalisation ? Varies by sector (and mode) ? What is optimal ? RegionOther RegionsWorld Scale

  6. Motivations Advantages of RTAs over the MTS • Literature suggests significant gains (much more than RTAs on merchandise alone) • More easily negotiated between limited set of participants with similar levels of development, geographical proximity and cultural ties • Allow for regional specificity • Allow for a greater degree of reciprocity • Reduce free-rider problem

  7. Motivations Advantages of RTAs over the MTS • Allow for greater liberalisation of temporary movement of services suppliers • Often include cooperative mechanisms for building institutional and infrastructural capacity At the same time RTAs complement the MTS • Facilitating the transition to multilateral liberalisation by strengthening indigenous supply capacities and regulatory effectiveness

  8. North African Initiatives Regional • UMA • Agadir • GAFTA Inter-Regional • EuroMed, European Neigborhood (North-South) • GSTP (South-South)

  9. North African Initiatives • All have focused on liberalising merchandise trade • Results have not met expectations Intra-regional trade remains weak ~ 3 % of total merchandise trade • Deeper integration liberalising services trade and investment remains to be advanced It can generate dynamic gains needed to boost intra-regional merchandise trade, including by improving access to and efficiency of producer services (... increased export competitiveness)

  10. Experiences in other regions South-South RTAs on services : An element of developing countries’ development strategies ANDEAN MERCOSUR CARICOM Of 153 RTAs operational today, 43 are economic integration agreements in services notified under GATS Article V ASEAN SADC

  11. Possible Next steps for North Africa • Define a region for deeper integration (UMA, ECA-NA, GAFTA, EuroMed, ... ) • Promote regional trade and investment through trade facilitation and regulatory reform • Ensure preference margins for the region to avoid the ‘hub and spoke’ effect and attract regional investment • Identify sectors where the region has a strong potential to enhance supply capacity through preferential treatment and a unified industrial policy in an RTA

  12. Possible Next steps for North Africa • Negotiate progressive multilateral liberalisation to allow time for the development of regional capacities • Identify sectors where the region has a weak potential to enhance supply capacity on its own and where extra-regional investment through inter-regional and multilateral liberalisation is desirable • Identify sectors where participation in production chains can be enhanced through inter-regional and multilateral agreements

  13. Assistance from UNCTAD Working closely with ECA and other international organisations, UNCTAD is ready to assist with: • Sectoral analyses and assessments of optimal scale of liberalisation • Elaboration of regional agreements on services and investment • Regulatory reform and competition policy • WTO accession (Algeria, Libya, Sudan) • WTO negotiations, and in particular GATS negotiations UNCTAD actively supports and provides capacity building under the Aid-for-Trade Initiative

  14. Thank you for your attention.

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