Towards a Convergence between Strong Trade Agreements and Weak Trade Policies in Sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract

Trade agreements present unique opportunities for negotiating partners; however, these benefits will not come without costs. The generally disappointing record of Sub‐Saharan Africa with trade agreements warrants a reexamination of the situation especially at the multilateral and regional level. Africa faces the challenge of how to determine the priorities in its trade policy among competing demands on the unilateral, regional and multilateral fronts. In many African countries, trade policy design has not been effective in addressing issues bordering on the ease of doing business and its coherence with other policies has been limited.