tralac's new short course:  Applications for our new blended (combining online and residential learning) short course Trade Law and Policy for Africa’s Development have opened. This course provides a comprehensive coverage of International Trade Law and Policy in the 21st Century, from an African development perspective. The deadline for applications is 31 July 2018. 

Who should attend the course?  Mid-level and senior trade policy officials from Africa’s national governments, regional and continental organisations and experienced trade policy and law practitioners from non-state organisations, including the private sector.  Download the course outline (pdf).

The WTO's Public Forum 2018 takes place on 2-4 October on the theme: Trade 2030 (pdf)

The BRICS Business Forum took place today in Johannesburg: tomorrow's selection will carry a comprehensive set of postings from the discussions

Logistics Performance Index: Connecting to Compete (World Bank)

Utilizing surveys of logistics professionals, the LPI offers two perspectives on a country’s performance: (i)  The domestic LPI offers quantitative and qualitative assessments of a country’s services from logistics professionals working inside the country. This component offers detailed information on a country’s infrastructure, quality of service providers, border procedures, and supply chain reliability; (ii) The international LPI provides evaluations of a country’s services by logistics professionals located outside the country. This component provides qualitative information of how a country’s trading partners perceive the efficiency and quality of its logistics services. Extract (pdf):  

Overall, the score profile of the entire set of more than 160 countries has remained similar since the 2007 edition, an indication of the robust nature of underlying data. The modest convergence of scores from 2007 to 2014 was explained in the 2014 edition by a perceived improvement in the trade-supporting infrastructure of low- and middle-income countries and, to less extent, in their logistics services and customs and border management.  This explanation appeared largely valid for most countries being ranked. In 2016, however, the gap seemed to widen between the top and the bottom, with the highest average scores ever for the top 10 countries (4.13 on a scale from 1 to 5) and the lowest scores since 2007 for countries at the bottom (1.91; table S.1).

In 2018, the gap between top and bottom performers narrowed again. The average score for the top 10 countries dropped to 4.03, whereas the bottom 10 countries scored an all time high of 2.08 (figure S.1). High-income countries occupied the top 10 rankings in 2018, eight in Europe plus Japan and Singapore - countries that have traditionally dominated the supply chain industry. Germany is at the top, scoring 4.20. The scores of the following nine countries are in a tight interval, with Sweden in 2nd with a score of 4.05 and Finland in 10th with a score of 3.97.

The bottom 10 countries are mostly low income and lower-middle-income countries in Africa or isolated areas. Some are fragile economies affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, and political unrest. Others are landlocked countries naturally challenged by geography or economies of scale in connecting to global supply chains. Afghanistan ranks 160th with a score 1.95, preceded by Angola (2.05), Burundi (2.06), and Niger (2.07).

Among the lower-middle-income countries, large economies such as India (44th with a score of 3.18) and Indonesia (46th with a score of 3.15) and emerging economies such as Vietnam (39th with a score of 3.27) and Côte d’Ivoire (50th with a score of 3.08) stand out as top performers. Most of these countries either have access to sea or are located close to major transportation hubs.

The composition of the top-performing upper-middle-income economies has changed marginally, with China (26th with a score of 3.61), Thailand (32nd with a score of 3.41), and South Africa (33rd with a score of 3.38) leading the group. Romania, Croatia, and Bulgaria also improved their rankings. Among low-income countries, those in East and West Africa lead in this year’s edition.

Policy-making after the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: towards a broader trade logistics approach? (UNCTAD)

This article presents two trends related to policy-making in trade and transport facilitation, namely the related increased importance of the hard infrastructure dimension and new governance schemes based on public-private partnerships.  [The authors: Céline Bacrot, Luisa Rodriguez.  This article was posted in the latest Transport and Trade Facilitation Newsletter]

Related trade facilitation updates:  

(i)  Mozambique launches National Trade Facilitation Committee

(ii)  @WCO_TFAWG: Congratulations to Uganda for the ratification of the WTO TFA

(iii)  WTO TFA ratifications database

Kenya: Govt downplays job losses in Mombasa over SGR cargo trains (Business Daily)

The government has asked container freight stations to set base in Nairobi while downplaying reports that a rise in railway cargo transport had caused job losses in Mombasa. Transport Principal Secretary Paul Maringa said ferrying of cargo through the SGR offered more gains to the economy, ensured efficiency at the port and saved roads from overloaded trucks. “We cannot continue having conversation about Mombasa and Nairobi. We must look at the bigger picture. We are encouraging the CFS owners to come and open their stations in Nairobi and other parts of the country as well as the SGR will keep on moving as part of the larger milestone,” Prof Maringa told this writer on phone. Some seven trains ferrying 752 containers leave the port daily for Nairobi. About 1,300 containers arrive at the port every day. A ship that used to take up to 12 days to clear cargo at the port, he said, is now taking a day and a half. In the last two months, he said, the port has handle at least 17,000 containers. [Related logistics updates:  Ethiopia-Eritrea handshake renders Lapsset obsolete;  Uganda in single customs exports via Mombasa;  Financial Times: China’s ‘Belt and Road’ court to challenge current US-led order;  Bloomberg:  Goodbye, China Deleveraging. Onward Belt and Road?]

Zambia will not relax its rules on the importation of wheat flour from other SADC countries (Lusaka Times)

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Christopher Yaluma says Zambia has expressed reluctance to relax its rules on the importation of wheat flour from other SADC. Mr Yaluma, says Zambia’s decision to maintain the status-quo concerning wheat importation was in the best interest of the country as it would benefit the local economy. Speaking on the side lines of the SADC 30th meeting of the committee of Ministers of Trade held in Pretoria [this week], Mr. Yaluma said Zambia’s decision has since been accepted by the SADC Secretariat.

He said Zambia will exercise caution to adopt international trade treaties that were not favourable to the country adding that by consensus, the decision was accepted by other countries. Mr Yaluma indicated that government needed sometime in order to make extensive consultation with several local stakeholders before adopting some international trade agreements. Mr Yaluma, said government was actively working towards meeting deadlines given to ensure that it carried out extensive consultation before coming up with permanent position on some international trade agreements, like joining the AfCFTA, which remained suspended.

Ghana:  Illicit importation of edible oil killing local industry - OPDAG (GhanaWeb)

The President of the Oil Palm Development Association of Ghana , Mr Samuel Avaala, has made a passionate call for the local oil palm industry to be protected. He said local producers have more than sufficient capacity to refine and bottling crude palm oil to meet local demand. He said investigations have revealed that an average of about 6,000 tonnes of finished edible oil are imported every month, which sell at unbelievably low prices.  He said Ghana loses close to $3m a month in illicit importation of vegetable oil through under-declaration, under-invoicing, mis-declaration, smuggling, removal in-bond, removal in transit and corruption at entry points. Mr Avaala stressed that the country’s Palm Oil industry has the capacity to meet the local demand explaining that the existing crude palm refineries in Ghana have a combined capacity of approximately 615,000 million tonnes per annum against a 300,000 per annum demand.

Mozambique to export sugar to Rwanda (Club of Mozambique) 

Mozambique is to export sugar to Rwanda and is looking to maximise the business, taking into account the country’s volume of production and potential. Ten thousand tons will be exported in the first phase. Currently, Mozambique produces more than 400,000 tons of sugar – about twice what the country domestic needs – and has the potential to increase production still further. The sugar deal is one of the gains of a three-day state visit by President Nyusi to Rwanda at the invitation of his counterpart, Paul Kagame.

Improving food security in Africa: AUC workshop update (AU)

The African Union Commission, in collaboration with the FAO and Rockefeller Foundation, are engaged in a two-day High-level meeting with key stakeholders to develop policies and strategies for country specific plans to reduce post-harvest losses, in response to the 2014 Malabo Declaration on Africa Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation.  The results of the 2018 Biennial Review Report on progress of implementation of the Malabo Declaration commitments on the post-harvest losses indicated that only five countries reported having collected the required adequate data on post-harvest losses in their countries. The countries, Malawi, Mauritania, Rwanda, Togo and Uganda are on track towards achieving the post-harvest loss target by 2025.

This means that only 9% of the countries on the continent demonstrated explicit efforts and reporting on postharvest losses in their countries. 76% of the continent (42 Member States) did not report or avail data on their efforts to reduce PHL.  Whilst not reporting on this indicator does not mean that there are no post-harvest losses in those countries, the lack of data on the indicator seems to indicate a major challenge with post-harvest loss management including monitoring and reporting in the majority of the African Union Member States.

Power Africa Gas Roadmap (USAID)

The Power Africa Gas Roadmap provides a comprehensive framework for defining and coordinating gas-to-power activities supported by Power Africa and partners through 2030. This Roadmap is designed to optimize and leverage Power Africa’s key strengths to achieve a discrete and measurable set of objectives. Although constraints and bottlenecks to the development of gas-fired power generation still exist, new gas discoveries–in combination with advances in technology and increasing activity from domestic and international investors–have produced the conditions for an “African Gas Revolution.”  It outlines a plan for achieving up to 16,000 megawatts of additional gas-fired power generation in SSA by 2030. Power Africa's Gas Roadmap (pdf) estimates US companies could invest in, or compete for, $175bn worth of gas power projects in SSA, with the potential for at least $5bn of US exports of liquefied natural gas by 2030.  [AEI's Emily Estelle: America ignores Africa to its peril]

Today's Quick Links:

DG Azevêdo: Now is the time to speak up for trade and the trading system

African Cotton, Textiles & Apparel Monitor: Issue 19, 24 July 2018, is posted

South African Journal of International Affairs: The impact of plurilateral trade agreements on developing countries – to participate or not to participate?

Maersk's Trade Report for India Q1 2018

US-China Economic and Security Review Commission: Trends in trade - US-China goods trade 2012-2017

E-bikes: Up to 83.6% China duties to protect EU sector with rising sales and no job losses

PIIE: Trump's $262bn China tariff threat plays with the bank’s money

Arvind Subramanian: Parting reflections of a CEA