WTO Trade Facilitation Measures and the Extensive Margin of Exports in the Tripartite: Comesa – EAC – SADC
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Date
2021-08-06
Authors
Leudjou, njiteu roland
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
This study uses a gravity model for the year 2015 to analyze the impact of the World
Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on extensive margin
of exports (export diversification proxied by the number of products exported) by
the Tripartite (COMESA, EAC and SADC) country members. It appears that all trade
facilitation measures (except “fees and charges”) have a positive and significant effect
on export diversification irrespective of the type of product or trading partner. “Appeal
procedures” (the rights to traders to obtain review and correction of decisions made by
Customs officials in an administrative and/or judicial proceeding) measures have the
most critical effect. Exports within the Tripartite are more impacted than exports with
partners outside the region. The increase in number of exported products is higher for
commodities than for manufactured goods with intra-tripartite exports, whereas the
opposite is observed with exports to partners in the rest of the world. Counterfactual
analysis shows that if the Tripartite countries comply with regional best practice (or
the WTO requirement) in trade facilitation, “advance rulings” (binding information
about customs treatment of goods before imports) and “appeal procedures” measures
would have the greatest effect on exports diversification respectively within the
Tripartite, and with the rest of the world. SADC trade facilitation policies perform
better than the EAC’s and COMESA’s, regardless of the type of product, partner or
trade facilitation measure (except for “fees and charges”). The EAC performs better
than COMESA. This study recommends implementing the WTO TFA which could
increase export diversification both within the Tripartite Free Trade Area and with
rest of world partners