For simplicitly, the recommendations listed below assume that there will be one regional FTA (as shown in the attached note, the same results can be achieved by a regional set of bilateral FTAs, but at higher costs and greater uncertainty). They focus on five countries (Albania,...

The Mano River Union of Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is turning 40. The MRU was founded in October 1973 with the principal aim of advancing economic development through trade integration. The organisation largely ceased activities during the civil wars that engulfed its...

The need for countries to facilitate trade and to reduce the transactions costs plaguing trade is receiving a lot of interest in policy circles, and in particular in the WTO, where trade facilitation has been one of the few good stories in recent multilateral negotiations. Is this interest...

This paper uses a novel dataset on US food import refusals to show that reputation is an important factor in the enforcement of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures. The strongest reputation effect comes from a country’s own history of compliance in relation to a particular product. The...

This paper uses a novel dataset on United States food import refusals to show that reputation is an important factor in the enforcement of sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The strongest reputation effect comes from a country's own history of compliance in relation to a particular product....

For simplicitly, the recommendations listed below assume that there will be one regional FTA (as shown in the attached note, the same results can be achieved by a regional set of bilateral FTAs, but at higher costs and greater uncertainty). They focus on five countries (Albania,...

With diminishing tariff s, the focus of trade policy makers and analysts is logically turning towards non-tariff barriers (NTBs), but there much remains to be done. It is well-know that tackling NTBs poses many challenges for the analyst because of their diverse and complex nature, and the lack...

There are three well-known observations about the current regional trade policy of Europe. The first one is the central role played by the European Union in the worldwide spreading of regional agreements. The second is the new policy of signing bilateral deep regional trade agreements. The third...

With diminishing tariffs, the focus of trade policy makers and analysts is logically turning towards non-tariff barriers (NTBs), but there much remains to be done. It is well-know that tackling NTBs poses many challenges for the analyst because of their diverse and complex nature, and the lack...

Regional integration is increasingly recognized as a key avenue for promoting economic growth and reducing poverty. Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have become a central instrument of regional integration in all parts of the world. Beyond market access and the progressive elimination of...