StatCom Africa III Cape Town - Jan. 18-23, 2012

1. StatCom Africa IIICape Town - Jan. 18-23, 2012 Statistical data requirements for Trade and Regional Integration in Africa Simon Mevel / RITD / UNECA

2. Outline of the Presentation • Importance of statistics in the area of trade • Use of trade-related statistics: a concrete example in the context of Regional Integration in Africa • Main data requirements for trade-related statistics

3. Importance of statistics in the area of trade • Help understanding the structure and evolution of regional, national and international markets • Are at the basis of trade policy analysis and decision making: • For direct interpretation (GDP, trade flows, employment/unemployment rates, etc.) • As inputs for economic tools (econometrics, modeling) to analyze trade policies

4. Use of trade-related statistics: a concrete example in the context of Regional Integration in Africa • Main trade characteristics and constraints in Africa today • Brief description of statistical data and methodology used for analyzing the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) • Key findings/recommendations from the analysis

5. Main trade characteristics and constraints in Africa today • Low share of African exports in total world exports (in %) Source: COMTRADE 2010

6. Main trade characteristics and constraints in Africa today - cont’d • Low share of intra-trade for Africa as compared to other regions (in %) Source: 2010 International Trade Statistics of the World Trade Organization

7. Main trade characteristics and constraints in Africa today - cont’d • High concentration of African exports in primary products (in %) Source: Authors’ calculations based on the MIRAGE model

8. Main trade characteristics and constraints in Africa today - cont’d • High tariff barriers to trade within the continent (in %) Source: Authors’ calculations based on MAcMap-HS6 v2

9. Main trade characteristics and constraints in Africa today - cont’d • High non-tariff barriers to trade within the continent *Average time for inland transport + customs procedures + port handling Source: World Bank Doing Business, Trading Across Borders 2012

10. Brief description of methodology and statistical data used for the analysis • Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model: • Very powerful tool for economists to conduct policy analyses of many kinds (trade policies, environmental policies, etc.) • Capable of capturing multiple interactions taking place within the different agents of the world economy – thanks to many interconnected equations representing behaviors of economic agents and various economic linkages • Also has significant constraints/limitations and represents world economy imperfectly (based on numerous assumptions)BUT it is the only tool available today to undertake assessment of complex economic policies

11. Brief description of methodology and statistical data used for the analysis – cont’d • Modelling International Relationships in Applied General Equilibrium (MIRAGE) model - brief description: • CEPII & IFPRI, UNECA is part of MIRAGE consortium • Dynamic, multi-country & multi-sector • Particularly well designed for trade policies analysis

12. Brief description of methodology and statistical data used for the analysis – cont’d • Main data inputs for the CGE model: • Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database (Purdue University). • Provides detailed data on: bilateral trade flows, transport, energy, consumption of intermediate and final goods and services, taxes and subsidies, etc., • 57 sectors • 129 regions • Used as global Social Accounting Matrix for the model: • Market Access Map(MAcMap) database (joint efforts between ITC, UNCTAD, WTO, CEPII & IFPRI). Exhaustive database on market access: • bilateral level (220 exporters & 169 importers), • 5113 product lines.

13. Brief description of methodology and statistical data used for the analysis – cont’d • Implementation of several scenarios consisting in removing tariff and non-tariff barriers: • Establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area(CFTA) • Comparison with the formation of Regional FTAs Free Trade Area (definition): “Region where all tariff barriers on goods are removed” • For the above cases, options with and without Trade Facilitation (TF) measures are considered • Make customs’ procedures twice more efficient and reduce by half time merchandise spend at African ports

14. Key findings/recommendations from the analysis • Regional integration is not costless (example: tariff revenues losses; Aid For Trade will need to be targeted to some sectors/countries) but overall gains >> losses • The larger the FTA, the greater trade and real income gains • Reductions/eliminations of tariff barriers are necessary and deliver significant gains but does not considerably improve intra-African trade • Complementary policies (such as trade facilitation measures) are critical and must be of high priority in the negotiations • CFTA + TF measures could double intra-African trade over a 12 years period (from 11% 2010 to nearly 22% in 2022)

15. Main data requirements for trade-related statistics – cont’d Only 20 African countries in GTAP; the other ones being aggregated in 6 heterogeneous groups(need help from statisticians to improve the database!!!)

16. Main data requirements for trade-related statistics • Obtain Supply and Use Tables or even Input/Output Tables for African countries not available into the GTAP database Commitment from Member States through the National Institutes of Statistics is critical on that respect

17. Main data requirements for trade-related statistics – cont’d • Other key statistical data requirements (1/2): • More systematic data to characterize trade in Africa (intra-REC, intra-Africa, intra-industry) • Trade and protection in services (especially those related to trade: transportation, insurance, banking) • Informal trade • Trade and gender

18. Main data requirements for trade-related statistics – cont’d • Other key statistical data requirements (2/2): • Better trade facilitation measures and non-tariff barriers indicators • Employment/Unemployment • Exhaustive household surveys to capture social impacts (such as poverty implications) of trade policy reforms • Need commitment from Member States to sharing their data to enhance trade and regional integration analysis and monitoring.

19. Thank you!

20. Annex: MAcMap-HS6 database and TASTE • Utilization of a free software with user friendly interface: the Tariff Analytical and Simulation Tool for Economists (TASTE) Average applied protection faced by African countries exports to the rest of the world Average applied protection imposed on African countries imports from the rest of the world Remark: Tariff aggregation using reference group weights with GTAP scaling Source: MAcMap-HS6v2 database