Korea’s Country Partnership Strategy and Bilateral Trade: Establishing a Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract Is the establishment of Korea’s Country Partnership Strategy ( CPS ) since 2011 associated with increases in Korea’s exports to and imports from its Sub-Saharan African ( SSA ) partners? Two cases of Korea’s CPS for SSA countries — Ethiopia and Mozambique — indicate that an association can be established between the CPS inception and increases in Korea’s exports of manufactured products to and imports of primary commodities from its priority partners. At the same time, the study revealed that improvement in the trade balance in favor of the priority partners depended on the type of primary commodities in which those countries specialize. Specifically, priority partners specializing in minerals exports experienced a dramatic improvement in their trade balance with Korea relative to their counterparts specializing in agricultural exports.