News
tralac’s Daily News selection: 16 July 2015
The selection: Thursday, 16 July
From Twitter: for coverage of the just-completed TIPS Annual Forum 2015, view the TL of @regrum, or #TIPSforum
Featured infographic: India's trade tanks (LiveMint)
The Financing for Development conference closes today in Addis: a selection of updates
The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (UN News Centre)
The Addis Tax Initiative declaration (International Tax Compact)
Joseph Stiglitz: 'On financing for development, we need to lead against the wind' (UNECA)
Multilayer approach to capacity building needed for digital financial inclusion (ACBF)
Africa’s economic transformation in focus at UN development financing conference (UNECA)
UNCTAD Special Editions prepared for the Third FFD conference:
Investing in Sustainable Development Goals: Part 1 - Action Plan for Private Investments in SDGs, Part 2 - Reforming International Investment Governance
Fostering Africa’s services trade for sustainable development
PPI and the poorest: New private participation in infrastructure results highlight critical role of MDBs in IDA countries (World Bank Blogs)
The newest PPI Database results show that investment commitments to infrastructure projects with private participation investment in IDA countries from 2009 to 2014 totaled US$72.8 billion. This is significant because it accounts for just seven percent of the total recorded over this period for all emerging markets and developing economies covered in the database. This is not that surprising, but does show that we have a long way to go. The number of projects with private participation in IDA countries is also only 10 percent of the total — a little better, and indicating that, unsurprisingly, projects are smaller on average in IDA countries.
Better trade logistics could jump-start Africa’s light manufacturing industry (World Bank Blogs)
Nonetheless, Africa still has some catching up to do when compared with other regions. Reform efforts should not only focus on removing barriers for trade in goods, but also for trade in services. Access to competitively produced services – including banking, insurance, communication, IT, engineering, auditing and legal services – is crucial to the development of manufacturing exports. Recent studies – such as the Bank Group report Defragmenting Africa: Deepening Regional Trade Integration in Goods and Services – have shown that poor business services for trade function as barriers to the enhanced integration of both goods and services.
Weigh bridges are faulty, transporters tell UNRA probe team (Daily Monitor)
AGOA: Report of the Government of the United States for 2014 (WTO)
In 2014, US imports under AGOA fell 52.2% from $24.8 billion to $11.8 billion, due in most part to a large drops in imports of mineral fuels and motor vehicles and their parts (HTS chapter 27 and 87 respectively). Nevertheless, mineral fuels still accounted for almost 75.9% of US imports under AGOA in 2014, compared to approximately 86% in 2013. [Download]
Abuja to host conference on economic partnership between ECOWAS, EU (Bilaterals)
An international conference designed to take a critical appraisal of the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement between Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) will take place in Abuja between July 28 and 29 2015. The event is being organized by the leading pan-African newsmagazine Africa Today. [Conference www]
Building the capacity of WTO National Consultative Committees in six SADC countries (SATH)
During August and September 2015, workshops will be held in Mozambique, Malawi, Lesotho, Zambia, Botswana, and Swaziland - countries where the Trade Hub has been offering assistance with training and capacity building for NEPs over the past two years.
Tanzania: Current account deficit narrows (Daily News)
The current account deficit narrowed 26.3% in the year to May, thanks to increased earnings from tourism and manufacturing, the central bank has said. The deficit narrowed to US$3.94bn in the 12 months to May from US$5.35bn in the same period last year. Bank of Tanzania said in its monthly economic report that higher exports of goods and services offset a decline in financial aid from Western donors, who reduced their help amid claims of corruption in government. Imports of goods and services fell to US$13.3bn from US$14.05bn previously. Total exports rose by 9.8 % to US$9.45bn. [Download]
Tourism earnings on the rise (Daily News)
WB revises Zim’s growth prospects (The Herald)
The World Bank has revised downwards Zimbabwe’s economic growth for this year but improvement is expected in 2016 going forward in line with the Sub-Saharan Africa growth trend. According to the World Bank’s Global Economist Prospects for June, Zimbabwe’s economy will grow by 1% this year and will be at 2,5% in 2016 and 3,5% in 2017.
‘Consult SMEs on policy formulation’ (NewsDay)
Tobacco season difficult: stakeholders (NewsDay)
State firms on the brink (Financial Gazette)
The AU's plans for an African passport a pie in the sky? (Institute for Security Studies)
The AU is certainly aware that this call for open borders has fallen on deaf ears many times before. The idea of an African passport has surfaced periodically at AU summits – the last time being at the July 2007 summit in Accra, Ghana – but it has never become a reality. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, one of the great supporters of free movement in what he termed as the United States of Africa, was repeatedly voted out when he tried to push forward this idea before his death in 2011. For now, the AU has asked foreign ministers of member states to organise a retreat to discuss the issue.
Investor-State Dispute Settlement: review of developments in 2014 (UNCTAD)
Investors continue to use the investor–State dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. In 2014, claimants initiated 42 known treaty-based ISDS cases. The total number of known ISDS cases reached 608. 40% of new cases were initiated against developed countries (the historical average is 28%). A quarter of all new disputes are intra-EU cases.
Why BRICS trade in local currency doesn’t work for India (The Indian Express)
In any swapping arrangement, the country with the weaker currency gains. From a more strategic point of view, it makes sense for India to have local currency invoicing arrangements mostly with countries with which it enjoys a surplus in bilateral trade. India suffers a huge deficit with China (See chart). With Russia and South Africa too, India runs a deficit. It has a small advantage with Brazil. A local currency swap arrangement with countries from whom India imports will only encourage more imports.
Ufa Declaration of the IVth Trade Union Forum of BRICS countries (ITUC)
We expect that BRICS Governments will pursue more vigorously the reforming of the IMF and of the World Bank. The time has come to establish real control over large-sized MNCs operating on our territories and to subordinate their activities to development objectives. Trade unions have a role to play in this process. For this aim, we have a tripartite ILO Declaration of principles concerning MNCs and social policy.
Cyril Ramaphosa: speech at the SA-China State Owned Enterprises seminar (GCIS)
We are here to learn about best practice in the management of state-owned enterprise (SOEs). We are keen to find out more about the institutional arrangements and financial models that ensure that SOEs are sustainable and deliver on their mandate to accelerate economic growth and transformation. We would also like to know about frameworks for private sector participation in the SOEs to augment the capacity of the state.
South Africa, China expand trade (iafrica)
Deputy President Ramaphosa invited the Chinese business community to invest in South Africa, especially in the Special Economic Zones focussed on the ten investment projects agreed to between the respective governments. "Both of our governments have agreed that we need to change the structure of trade away from commodity based trade, to trade in more value added products emanating from South Africa. To this end we have presented the Chinese government with a list of 10 value added products which we would like to see incorporated into your supply chains. We have already benefitted from skills and technology transfer and would like to encourage the Chinese government to continue to support us, as we work towards closing our skills gap," he said.
Kenya to host Tokyo International Conference on African Development summit next year as Gambia bows out (The Standard)
What does the Global Entrepreneurship Summit mean for US-Kenya Relations? (The Star)
Commonwealth Sec-General aspirant, Ronald Sanders, to visit Nigeria (ThisDay)
Pact opens up Iran to renewed SA trade (Business Day)
West Africa: Capital markets integration gets boost (ThisDay)
StanChart, Lipa na M-Pesa link up for real-time money transfer (Business Daily)
China's steel firms are playing the long game in Africa (The Economist)
China’s Huawei gets security clearance to manufacture in India (LiveMint)
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This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)
