Actorness Beyond the European Union: Comaparing the International Trade Actorness of SADC and ECOWAS

Contains fulltext : 127195.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Actorness is no longer the preserve of the European Union. Due to their participation in interregional relations, other regional organizations are developing and institutionalizing the requirements of international actorness, but insofar as a comparative framework for systematically comparing and contrasting actorness across different organizations is lacking, it is difficult to predict the likely outcomes of such relations. Taking a comparative regionalisms approach, this article develops a comparative and generalizable framework of actorness. Adding to the extremely limited literature on non-EU actorness, the model is tested in an analysis of the actorness of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the field of international trade negotiations. Despite SADC's stronger identity and presence, it is ECOWAS – having more effective decision-making and better capabilities – that possesses greater actorness – a fact likely to impact on inter-regional outcomes.19 p

Non-Tariff Measures Affecting Agricultural Trade in SADC

The establishment of the World Trade Organisation in 1995 and subsequent proliferation of the regional and bilateral trade agreements resulted in the decline of global tariffs. However, other trade and regulatory measures have increased and thus restricted potential trade to some extend. These measures, non-tariff measures (NTMs) have also affected intra-SADC trade as there was no evidence of growth in the trade that needed to accompany the decline in tariffs. The extent of the impact of NTMs on SADC trade is still not fully understood due lack of such data, which effectively affected the quality of research in this area. In this paper data on NTM related to SADC agricultural products for ten countries were compiled to shed some light on these measures as well as to make them transparent. The results confirm that these countries have increased their use of NTMs of the period. As a result, on average one product is subjected to 17 NTMs in 2010. SACU is the leader in the use of NTMs, while Malawi had the least incidences of NTMs. Most of The NTMs are applied on fruits, meat, dairy, vegetables and cereal products. The use of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures (SPS) and export measures were increasing faster than other categories. Finally, there is an indication that NTMs are used as substitutes for the declining tariffs. NTMs are trade restricting, and if they are not addressed they will continue to reverse the gains of SADC free trade area as well as other initiatives of trade liberalisation.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ragr202017-12-31hb2017Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

The challenges of globalisation for development in southern Africa

The world is currently engaged in a process of globalisation, as is reflected in the growth of world trade, unification of capital markets, internationalisation of production, distribution networks and the mega-revolution in information, communications and technology. Globalisation presents both opportunities and challenges for developing countries, especially the southern African region. It also demands that the region becomes competitive in attracting investment, applying new technology, and producing goods and services that can compete efficiently on the global market. The main purpose of this article is therefore to consider whether southern Africa is likely to enter a global community successfully, and be prosperous in the process.

CORPORATE TAX RATES IN THE SADC REGION: DETERMINANTS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Since the 1990s the SADC region has closely followed declining trends that occurred in the industrialised world in terms of corporate tax rates. The main purpose of this paper is to find appropriate explanations behind these trends as experienced in the SADC region. A cross-section panel, including the so-called Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR), is applied to uncover the main determinants of corporate tax rates in the region. Copyright 2005 Economic Society of South Africa.

An overview of the content and historical context of the international freshwater agreements that South Africa has entered into with neighbouring countries

Conflict, Cooperation, Transboundary water, Treaty law, Regional integration,