Notizie

New regulation on deforestation creates additional barriers for African countries to export agricultural commodities to the EU

Mercoledì 20 Dicembre 2023 14:38

There are no translations available.

Yesterday we commented the 30th Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures of the World Trade Organization (WTO), explaining how most of restrictions to trade recently introduced by G20 countries (including the European Union), have been justified under the guise of measures aimed at protecting the environment. After the disputed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a new duty applicable in the EU on imports of selected goods due to the carbon emissions produced during their production which has already caused the reaction of countries like India, it is now the turn of the new EUDR - European Union Deforestation-free Regulation, (Regulation (EU) 2023/1115), in effect since June 2023, but with most of its provisions applicable only from end of December 2024. The new EU regulation is creating panic among African countries that produce agricultural commodities, including the Ethiopian coffee exporters, due to the strict due diligence rules that EU importers are called to observe in selecting their suppliers, which expose them to a risk to incur in sanctions up to 4% of their total annual Union-wide turnover, with possible confiscation of goods and exclusions up to 12 months from public procurement processes and from access to public funding, including tendering procedures, grants and concessions.

Investment in Research and Development grows almost everywhere, and in Africa?

Mercoledì 20 Dicembre 2023 11:46

There are no translations available.

The 20th edition of ‘The EU Industrial Research & Development (R&D) Investment Scoreboard’ published by the European Commission shows that in 2022 there was a peak in investment in Research and Development (R&D) by companies worldwide, totalling EUR 1,249.7 billion (EUR 141 billion more than in 2021). The report explains that to drive such investments are mainly European and Japanese companies, while US and Chinese companies invested less compared to the previous year (Figure 1). The report also notes that the top 50 Scoreboard companies (23 US, 10 EU, 5 Chinese, and 5 Japanese) invested EUR 488 billion in 2022, accounting for 39.1% of total R&D investment worldwide, whereas the top 10 account for 17.7% of the total. This shows that companies that mostly invest in R&D are big companies, a trend which has persisted over the past two decades, with four sectors (ICT producers, ICT services, health and automotive), that have been responsible for more than three quarters of R&D investment. The EU has maintained a lead position in automotive R&D investment as well as in more traditional sectors, while the US has invested heavily in ICT-related sectors and health. On the other hand, China had a substantial number of newcomers with fast growing R&D investments in the ICT and health sectors, reaching the second rank in the Scoreboard in terms of number of companies and – slightly ahead of the EU – in total R&D investment.

WTO: in G-20 economies trade restrictions outpace trade-facilitating measures

Martedì 19 Dicembre 2023 05:48

There are no translations available.

The 30th Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures of the World Trade Organization (WTO) shows that between mid-May and mid-October 2023 (review period), G20 economies introduced more trade-restrictive than trade-facilitating measures on goods. The members of the G20 are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and since September 2023, the African Union. However, with the exception of South Africa, the WTO report still does not cover African countries, given the too recent admission of the African Union (AU) to the group. It will be interesting to read the next edition of the report to understand what is the ratio trade restriction/trade facilitation in Africa, which is likely to raise the average at the G20 country level. Speaking about this average, the WTO notes that for the first time, since 2015, the average number of new trade restrictions introduced per month by G20 economies, reached a level that was superior trade-facilitating measures (9.8, compared to 8.8).

Kenya finally signs interim EPA with the EU

Lunedì 18 Dicembre 2023 06:47

There are no translations available.

This morning, 18 December 2023, the President of the Kenya Republic and the President of the EU Commission met to the State House in Nairobi for signing the much disputed EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The EU Council authorized on 12 December the EU Commission to sign the EPA with Kenya. Following this authorization, the President of the EU Commission traveled today to Nairobi to officially sign the agreement. Kenya is one of the largest economy in Africa, one of the most stable democracies in the continent, and a gateway to East Africa. For the country, the EU represents its second largest trading partner. Total trade between the EU and Kenya averaged €3.3 billion in 2022, with a surplus in the EU’s favour. In particular, the Kenya exports to the EU goods for a total amount to €1.2 billion, mainly represented by agricultural products with low value addition, such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers. On the other hand, EU’s exports to Kenya amount to €2.02 billion and are mainly made by high-value added products such as mineral and chemical products and machinery.

UNCTAD statistics show steady growth rates in exports of African goods and services

Venerdì 15 Dicembre 2023 15:20

There are no translations available.

In Africa, population is not the only factor that is growing fast. The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2023, released yesterday, shows that in 2022, African developing economies experienced one of the highest rise in exports (16.9 per cent) at global level. Unfortunately, the structure of African states remains strongly concentrated in primary goods, which accounted for 79 per cent of merchandise exports, with fuels representing 42 per cent of such exports, followed by ores, metals, precious stones and non-monetary gold. Particularly low, instead, are food exports, representing a modest 11 per cent of outward trade flows of the continent, as shown in figure 1.