News
tralac’s Daily News selection: 11 September 2015
The selection: Friday, 11 September
New reports from tralac:
JB Cronjé: Preparing for trade in services negotiations in the context of a comprehensive CFTA
John Stuart: ICTs, services development and trade: how Africa can benefit
Gerhard Erasmus: Trade remedies as part of the Continental Free Trade Area
Plans to establish a continental agricultural chamber gaining traction (Agbiz)
One fundamental challenge that has faced agriculture till now has been how to organise smallholder agriculture - both farmers and agribusinesses - and have their voices projected in a manner that influences the continent's policy direction towards a more sustainable growth path. As such, a study was undertaken to review and profile the existing agricultural and agribusiness chambers in Africa, with a view to assess strength of existing representation across the continent. The outcome of this stock-take exercise was presented at the second AU Agribusiness Forum held in Kigali, Rwanda in June 2015 by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). [Download the scoping study, the presentation]
African powerhouses Kenya and South Africa can tag team and win the wealth game (M&G Africa)
The Kenya Trade and Investment Summit, held in partnership with the Kenya High Commission and Mail & Guardian Africa on September 4 at the Sandton Convention Centre resembled a McDonald’s menu. It had many iterations of a larger theme: how South Africa and Kenya can do more business and grow richer together. There was rapid agreement on the main sticking issue — South Africa’s new visa rules, which critics say are “anti-business”.
Germany hosts first German-African Business Summit (Addis Standard)
On the margins of the first German-African Business Summit, the German Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met on September 8 with leaders of four African Regional Organizations; SADC, AU, EAC, ECOWAS. They discussed German cooperation with regional organization in African, peace and security as well as migration issues. In his keynote address Foreign Minister Steinmeier outlined the challenges and chances of Sub-Saharan Africa and encouraged the participating high ranking business representatives to invest and explore the chances of doing business in Africa. [Speech by Foreign Minister Steinmeier]
EU must force more transparency from companies in Africa - Piketty (Reuters)
The European Union should require companies operating in Africa to disclose the taxes they pay there more transparently, to ensure they contribute fairly to government revenues, French economist Thomas Piketty said on Thursday. Africa's fast-growing economies are attracting the attention of foreign investors looking for new markets, particularly as developed nations have seen growth slow. But development in Africa remains hobbled by some of the world's lowest rates of tax collection, said Piketty, who shot to fame last year with the publication of his book on wealth and inequality, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century".
World Bank meets African Caucus in advance of fresh round of talks on safeguards
World Bank officials met with the African Caucus in Luanda, Angola, August 27 and 28, to present an update on the work to revise policies for protecting the poor and the environment in Bank- financed projects. World Bank (IBRD/IDA) lending for Africa reached a record USD11.6 billion in new investments last year. The review and update of the World Bank’s safeguard policies just entered a third round of consultations. The reform touches on complex development matters, including Human Rights, climate change, labor and working conditions, land acquisition and involuntary resettlement, cultural heritage and financial intermediaries, among other issues. [Download]
International trade statistics: trends in second quarter 2015 (OECD)
Total G7 and BRIICS international merchandise trade, in current US dollars, continued to contract in the second quarter of 2015, with exports and imports declining by 0.9% and 1.2% respectively, compared with the previous quarter. The slowdown in trade in the second quarter of 2015 was particularly marked in South East Asian economies, with exports and imports contracting in China (by 3.5% and 0.1%, respectively) as well as in Japan (by 4.4% and 5.4%) for the third consecutive quarter, and Indonesia (by 0.8% and 6.6%), for the sixth straight quarter.
The Barclays Africa Trade Index: download
The 2015 African Retail Development Index: download
Africa Forum 2015: Leaders call for renewed momentum, Kofi Annan’s speech, President John Mahama’s speech
AGOA: updates
South Africa: US tariff threat as dispute drags on (Business Day)
The Obama administration is actively considering the re-imposition of tariffs on a range of South African exports worth billions of rand including cars, ferromanganese, citrus and wine, unless SA moves rapidly to open its market to US chicken, beef and pork. "Without swift action, SA risks losing important tariff benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa)," deputy assistant US trade representative Trevor Kincaid said on Thursday.
US considers suspending SA’s membership of AGOA, ending billions in exports (Financial Times)
South Africa: Agbiz meets with USDA on AGOA
Nigeria: We went into AGOA without a strategy - Owolowo (Daily Trust)
Uganda: Kadaga advocates for AGOA secretariat (New Vision)
Liberia-US trade and investment forum (FPA)
China-Africa think tank forum highlights need to enhance bilateral ties (Global Post)
The 4th China-Africa Think Tank Forum on Thursday ended its two-day meeting in Pretoria, with convergence of views in many areas on enhancing the Sino-African relations. "There are various areas which African and Chinese scholars agreed on," said Liu Guijin, dean of China-Africa International Business School, Zhejiang Normal University and special representative of the Chinese government on African Affairs. "We agreed on many areas. Africa needs to have self confidence, take advantage of the presence of China in Africa, population, natural resources, strong political voice and unity to achieve their dreams and aspirations,"Liu said in his closing speech.
Ethiopia: Promoting trade and investment during GTP-I (Ethiopian Herald)
Sectoral distribution of the licensed foreign direct investments indicates, 423 (19.5%) projects are registered to engage in agriculture and related activities, while, 888 (41%) projects are registered to produce manufacturing products and the remaining 855 (40%) projects are licensed to engage in agriculture. The fact that 41% and 40% of foreign investors are registered to invest in manufacturing and service sectors respectively in starkly contrast with the intentions of domestic investors where 76 per cent of them are licensed to operate in the service sector. Investors from Peoples Republic of China constitute for the highest number of foreign investors investing on 322 projects followed by investors from the Republic of Turkey, the Sudan and India. Ethiopian Diaspora from America took the 5th place through investing on 81 projects. However, with regard to the amount of capital invested in the economy, Turkey, India, Sudan, Peoples Republic of China, Saudi Arabia and Joint investment by Ethiopian and Saudi Arabia constitute the top five investors in that order.
Battle for Sh3bn Mombasa port tender returns to court (Business Daily)
The fight for a Sh3 billion tender for the operation of Mombasa Port has returned to court, marking yet another twist in the lucrative contract that has pitted top global conglomerates including Toyota and Maersk against each other.
AU, Organization of African Trade Union Unity Partnership Forum (African Union)
The Forum will also consider, reflect upon and come up with a policy action framework on Trade Union participation in the Africa-EU partnership program for Africa’s development. We will also consider the contributions of the Labour Movement to the development of ECOSOCC as an Organ of the people and examine how to strengthen this contribution to ensure that AU should be people-driven in its concerns, methods, aspirations and policies. [Opening address]
Women, business and the law 2016 (World Bank)
Sub-Saharan Africa is a study in contrasts when it comes to women’s economic advancement, says the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law 2016 report, released today. The region hosts almost a third of the world’s 30 most restrictive economies and two of 18 economies where there are no legal barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and employment, as measured by the report. And the region continues to make progress towards gender equality, with 16 economies making 18 reforms in the past two years. Sub-Saharan Africa was the greatest reformer amongst all regions of the world, in terms of number of economies undertaking reforms, says the biennial report, which examines legal and regulatory barriers to women’s ability to get a job and start a business. [Downloads]
US opposes the South Africa-led debt plan (Daily Nation)
The South Africa-submitted resolution, "Basic Principles on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes", garnered 136 votes in favour and six against with 41 countries abstaining. The United States was one of those opposing the resolution. [Background to the resolution]
World food prices hit lowest level in almost seven years (UN News Centre)
The price of major food commodities continued to drop through August due to abundant supplies, a decline in energy prices and concerns over the economic slowdown in China, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported today. According to the FAO Food Price Index, which tracks international market prices for five major food commodity groups – cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar – virtually all food groups registered marked dips in price in August. The index averaged 155.7 points in August, down 5.2 per cent from July, the sharpest fall since December 2008.
Rise in global tourism continues, despite concerns over safety and security (UNWTO)
The limited data available for Africa indicates that international tourist numbers were down by 6% with a decline of 10% in arrivals to North Africa and 4% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Alongside the impacts of the terrorist attacks, African destinations have been impacted by the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak in a few West African countries and the slower growth of regional economies depending on the export of oil and other commodities.
Achim Steiner: 'Reshaping finance for sustainability' (UNEP)
The Inquiry has identified a number of specific policy actions that could be beneficial. Three overarching ideas stand out. The first is the incorporation of sustainability and environmental risks into the auditing and management of value chains and balance sheets. In Kenya, climate variability costs upwards of 2.4 per cent of GDP annually. Short-termism and information gaps exacerbate structural mispricing of climate risks. By incorporating sustainability-related risks throughout the value chain - in benchmarks, indices and credit ratings - markets are better able to respond to environmental risk. Further, by managing these risks prudently with regular stress testing and system-wide reviews, the chances of system-wide failures are reduced.
Concluding today, in Addis: the Transport Infrastructure Development in Africa course (UNECA)
The course is expected to provide senior officials drawn from relevant ministerial and extra-ministerial departments and RECs from across Africa with tools and knowledge for transport policy formulation and application. In addition, the following benefits are expected to flow from the course:
This week in the news
Catch up on tralac’s daily news selections for the past week:
The selection: Thursday, 10 September 2015
The selection: Wednesday, 9 September 2015
The selection: Tuesday, 8 September 2015
The selection: Monday, 7 September 2015
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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)
