Giovedì, Luglio 17, 2025
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Desiderio Consultants Ltd. è una think tank ed una rete di consulenti internazionali per lo sviluppo indipendenti costituita per promuovere ed influenzare politiche doganali e commerciali nei Paesi Africani, al fine di raggiungere riforme di facilitazione del commercio che favoriscano la crescita degli scambi commerciali a livello internazionale e regionale
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Notizie

Special Economic Zones: a tool for economic transformation in Africa?

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Special Economic Zones (SEZs), as a policy tool in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are one of the most debated topics this year. Currently, more than 230 SEZs established across the continent offer local and foreign investors the opportunity to take advantage of state-of-the-art infrastructure, links to major logistics hubs, and generous tax incentives, to conduct their manufacturing activities under particularly competitive conditions. Yet, opinions regarding their ability to drive African development are mixed. This is due to the fact that not always these zones have produced positive results in terms of attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) and know-how, creation of jobs and improvement of trade balances of African nations through increased exports.

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Seychelles AfCFTA implementation strategy online

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The Seychelles AfCFTA implementation strategy is finally online. AfCFTA implementation strategies are policy documents that define strategies for expediting the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and identify risks and opportunities arising from such implementation. They are based on a decision adopted on 15 May 2018 by the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Addis Ababa, which urged the African Union member States to prepare national strategies and implementation plans “to identify the key trade opportunities, current constraints and steps required to take full advantage of the African market", including modalities for increasing trade performance, map country priority sectors, and identify opportunities for regional and global value chain integration. Such strategies have been adopted by several African States and RECs (IGAD, EAC and ECOWAS, while the SADC strategy is under development), and they identify the priority actions that must be undertaken in the short to medium term in order to advance the AfCFTA. Desiderio Consultants was involved in its elaboration on behalf of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, that supported the Seychelles Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade in its development.

WTO finalizes the third trade policy review of Sierra Leone

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat completed the third Trade Policy Review of Sierra Leone, the third since the country acceded to the Organization. Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries' trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals to verify their compliance with WTO rules. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. The trade policy review of Sierra Leone depicts a situation of a country that is making strong efforts in implementation of reforms aimed at improving the business environment and facilitating trade. Customs transitioned from the IT system ASYCUDA++ to ASYCUDA World in January 2019, and a risk management system is in place to focus customs controls on high-risk consignments. However, a large proportion of shipments still undergo physical inspections, which undermines the intended efficiency of the risk management approach. In 2020, an Electronic Single Window was introduced to streamline procedures in import processes.

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Implications of S.S. trade measures on african markets and industrial development dialogue

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The global trade landscape is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by rising protectionist policies, strategic tariffs, and shifting geopolitical dynamics. The recent tariff announcement by President Donald Trump on April 2 has once again brought to light the far-reaching impact of unilateral trade measures by major economies—particularly on developing regions such as Africa. For African economies focused on export diversification, industrial growth, and deeper integration into global value chains, these evolving tariff regimes present both risks and opportunities. Understanding their implications is critical for shaping effective trade and industrial policies. In a webinar held on 15 April we analyzed the potential effects of these global shifts and to explore actionable strategies for enhancing Africa’s resilience, competitiveness, and participation in the global trade system.

The recording of the event is available here.

Small and vulnerable economies severely threatened by new US Tariffs

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The April 2025 edition of the UNCTAD Global Trade Update provides a first analysis of the impact of the “reciprocal tariffs” recently adopted by the United States, concluding that these additional customs duties, targeting a total of 57 trading partners, risk to greatly hinder the growth as well as the potential to diversify and add value to exports of small and vulnerable economies.

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