Using the influence-driven approach to endogenous trade-policy determination, we show how a free-trade agreement (FTA) with rules of origin can work as a device to compensate losers from trade liberalization. The FTA constructed in this paper is characterized by external tariff structures that...

Political motives, geography, and the uneven distribution of gains trumped the traditional efficiency gains across Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The small, sparsely populated, fragmented, and often isolated economies across Africa make a compelling case for these economies to...

This paper reviews integration among the eight African Regional Economic Communities by comparing their characteristics and progress with three other South-South Regional Integration Arrangements. Three conclusions emerge: (i) slow progress towards meeting overly ambitious objectives; (ii) small...

This paper appraises the likely effects of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the East African Community (EAC) and the European Union (EU). Customs data are used to estimate the revenue and welfare effects of an EPA with and without an exception list. Revenue and welfare effects...

This paper tackles the pollution haven argument by estimating the pollution content of imports (PCI). The PCI is then decomposed into three components: (i) a deep component (i.e. traditional variables unrelated to the environmental debate); (ii) a factor endowment component and (iii) a pollution...

Rules of origin are critical components of preferential trade agreements designed to stop products coming in under insufficient transformation or through the partner that applies the lowest tariff. But in practice, these rules are often needlessly complex, undoing the benefits of market access...

The main objective of the African Continental Free Trade Area is to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-Africa trade. This column argues that implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement's provisions would be a powerful complement to the free trade area's tariff-reduction agenda. A...

The main objective of the African Continental Free Trade Area is to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-Africa trade. This column argues that implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement's provisions would be a powerful complement to the free trade area's tariff-reduction agenda. A...

To become operational, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) must harmonize Rules of Origin (ROO) across Africa's Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) along two dimensions: regime-wide rules and product-specific rules. This paper describes and evaluates these ROO across the major...