The Economic Commission for Africa has published its report on International Transport and Trade facilitation in North Africa. In this study, the ECA office for North Africa analyses sub-regional policies, regulatory frameworks, transport and trade infrastructures. The report also includes suggested reforms and practical measures to facilitate trade and the transport, control and clearing of goods when crossing the sub-region’s main land borders (Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia).

“The aim of this study is to help promote the growth of trade by proposing, on the basis of a diagnosis of the existing situation in member countries, a regional outline plan to facilitate interstate transport, transit and trade in the North Africa region, along with measures and actions that would sustainably enhance the performance of customs administrations and the quality of logistics services while boosting the economic integration process,” explains Mrs Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane, Director of the ECA office for North Africa.

Although intra-regional trade doubled between 2007 and 2013, intra-regional trade remains well below its potential, accounting for only 4.8% of member country exports, against the African continental average of 12%. Despite several initiatives to launch an economic integration process (Arab Maghreb Union, Agadir agreement, bilateral conventions) intra-regional trade remains in North Africa is one of the least dynamic in the world.

This situation has a number of causes, including the persistence of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, high indirect costs caused by the economies’ lack of integration and the shortcomings of national regulatory frameworks. It is also related to the fact that, despite their effort to facilitate trade and improve transport infrastructures, the countries have not paid significant attention to inter-State cooperation to facilitate trade and deepen the integration process; these aspects often remained within the national frontiers or were limited to relations between the countries and their trade partners outside the sub-region.