Africa's Regional Trade Deals Fail to Boost Growth, Hurting Economies
Regional trade arrangements in Africa have not been very effective in boosting trade and investment due to high trade barriers, limited resource complementarity, small market size, poor infrastructure, and high trading costs. To improve regional trade, African countries should focus on broad-based liberalization, streamline existing trade agreements, enhance infrastructure, and simplify trade processes. Strengthening domestic revenue sources early on can help address concerns about revenue losses from trade liberalization.