Topics publications: Data analysis and statistics
Trade Briefs
Algeria, Egypt, and Mauritania intra-Africa trade and value chain development
This trade brief provides a snapshot of Algeria, Egypt, and Mauritania’s trade globally and within Africa (intra-Africa trade). For each country, a short summary of its membership to different regional economic communities is provided. The brief also looks at market access issues related to each country’s intra-Africa trade. A value chain analysis incorporating the three countries is conduction to explore potential value chains that the three countries can develop. All data is sourced from the International Trade Centre (ITC) TradeMap, the World Bank’s World Integrated Trading Solution (WITS) database. The trade brief is also accompanied by visual representations of the key data trends in an infographic for each country.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Briefs
South Africa Trade Update 2021
South Africa’s latest trade policy formulation retains the clear connection between trade and industrial policy, noting that that trade policy instruments such as the import tariff are used selectively to support industrialisation objectives. South Africa is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at the multilateral level; however, regional integration is an integral part of South Africa’s trade strategy.
This trade update focuses on South Africa’s trading relationship with select regional zones, regional economic communities (RECs) and select countries. More specifically, the brief will focus on South Africa’s trade with Africa, the European Union (EU), the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). The review period is for the full year – 2021.
View the accompanying infographic
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of tralac.
Trade Briefs
São Tomé and Príncipe in the times of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, which have restricted the movement of people and lowered economic activity, has had a significantly negative impact on global economic growth. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are, in particular, projected to be severely affected.
São Tomé and Príncipe is one such country, with a fragile economy which is therefore highly susceptible to external shocks. The remoteness of the island contributes to increased export costs, and the limited availability of land and a small workforce prevents diversification of the economy beyond a reliance on tourism revenues.
Although the island has seen some success in containing the spread of the virus, the major consequences to the country will not come in the form of cases or deaths, but rather from the severe economic consequences of a near absence of international travel and downturn in global economic activity. The threat to the tourism sector remains and will only get worse the longer international travel is restricted.
Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. All views and opinions expressed remain solely those of the author and do not purport to reflect the views of