Source : United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, “Merchandise: Intra-trade and extra-trade of country groups by product, annual, 2019,” accessed March 3, 2021. Deeper economic integration would make the bloc a more attractive and stable trade partner, allow it to enter into tripartite trade agreements with European and Sub-Saharan African countries, and could open the door for intra-regional cooperation in other important areas such as counterterrorism and migration. Yet, Maghreb states have the required economic structures and resources to boost intra-regional integration by reforming investment and trade policies, liberalizing services, and implementing free movement of goods. Lack of economic integration within the Maghreb is a long-standing issue that can be attributed to hostility between Algeria and Morocco and logistical constraints, such as trade protection, that make it difficult for Maghreb companies to do business across the region. The Maghreb also underperforms compared to the Gulf Cooperation Council (10.7 percent). This was the second lowest intra-group percentage of six major blocs in Africa (see Figure). The article reviews the economic effects of such agreements on member countries and on the world trading system. In 2019, trade between Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya stood at 2.8 percent of the group’s total, compared to 57.4 percent with the rest of Africa, and 97.2 percent with the rest of the world. Regional economic integration occurs when countries come together to form free trade areas or customs unions, offering members preferential trade access to each others' markets.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |