Take politics out of preferences – says ECA seminar paper
By Andrew Allimadi, Communication Officer, ECA
10 November 2004

Although trade preferences can be a good source of exports growth for African countries, this potential is largely unrealized because of the numerous complexities in accessing these trade arrangements. This was one of the conclusions of a seminar discussion paper delivered by Andy Mold, Economic Affairs Officer in the Trade and Regional Integration Division (TRID) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The paper examines the array of trade preference arrangements on offer, e.g. the European Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, and shows that take-up of these schemes remains low. In addition, these preferences are unilaterally given, and can be unilaterally withdrawn by the giving country, due to political considerations. In order for preferences to be more effective, political considerations should not determine who the recipients should be. In addition, they have to be streamlined across countries and simplified. For further details, you can download the draft paper presented at the seminar titled: "Does Africa Need Trade Preferences," from our website at www.uneca.org.