Why are African countries more likely to trade with Europe and America than they are with each other?

 300 words minimum 

For this discussion forum, we are going to work on the Closing Case from Chapter 9. This is an important case study since it looks into an often overlooked region and continenet: Africa, especially when it comes to trade.

Below, you can see a summary of the case. You can find the full text of the case at the end of Chapter 9 in your book.

Additionally, I have added some extra material and videos to help you understand the issues better. It also helps those of you who might be interested in digging deeper and learning about international trade and other regional agreements in the continent of Africa.

As usual, after reading the case study carefully and watching the videos I have provided, you need to answer the questions that I have posted below and discuss it with your classmates. Make sure to number your answers accordingly and don’t leave any questions unanswered:

Summary of case

The closing case explores free trade in Africa. Currently, there is very little intra-Africa trade thanks to significant trade barriers limiting the movement of goods within the continent. In fact, countries in Africa are more likely to trade with the European Union or the United States than they are with each other. There is reason to believe, though, that that could all change. In 2015, 26 countries signed an agreement to work toward creating a common market known as the Tripartite Free Trade Area. If it is successful, it will allow African firms to achieve greater economies of scale and lower their costs.

Please make sure to read and study the full case in Chapter 9 of our textbook.

In addition:  Here are couple of links and videos that are very informative about this topic:

Website: The CFTA – Continental Free Trade Area 

https://au.int/en/ti/cfta/about

Website: The TFTA – Tripartite Free Trade Area

https://www.tralac.org/resources/by-region/comesa-eac-sadc-tripartite-fta.html

Video: I highly recommend watching this video as it reflects the views of many officials and countries in Africa regarding the TFTA.

https://youtu.be/x9hmxR4J9TA 

Questions:

1. Why are African countries more likely to trade with Europe and America than they are with each other?

2. What are the likely gains from trade to be had from TFTA if it is fully implemented as a common market? 

3. Why do you think free trade areas established so far in Africa have not lived up to their expectations? How can this time be different?