RITD/RIS: Trade Policy Analyst

Finance & Economy

Overview

Review and assess implementation progress of BIAT and propose interventions

You have:

• A minimum of at least 10 years of relevant work experience in the field of regional integration and trade policy analysis and research in Africa is required.
• A minimums of a Masters Degree in International Trade, International Trade Policy, Trade facilitation, International Economics, Development Economics, political economy, Law or other relevant fields is required.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required.
• Proven experience in trade negotiations and advising African countries on trade policy at national, regional, continental and international level is strongly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to edit reports on regional integration, trade, trade facilitation, economic and social issues of relevance to Africa’s development and a reputation for timely and quality delivery.
• In-depth understanding of regional integration and technical understanding of trade and economic growth and development in Africa.

Result of Service Overall Objectives

It is against this background that the Regional Integration and Trade Division of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) proposes to engage the services of a consultant to assist in reviewing and assessing the progress made in the implementation of BIAT, as well as identifying constraints or/and challenges that may have hindered or slowed its implementation and proposing interventions to address them.

In particular, the report would review progress on the seven clusters of the BIAT Action Plan - trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade-related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information and factor market integration; highlight the extent to which member states, RECs or/and other stakeholders have executed the programmes/activities specified under each cluster or reached specific targets; as well as presenting country or regional case studies highlighting the success stories, which could serve as examples to be replicated. The analysis in the report would also unpack the complementarities between BIAT and the AfCFTA trade liberalisation, highlighting the implications of the slow pace of implementation of BIAT on the successful implementation of the AfCFTA.

Work Location Addis Ababa

Expected duration The duration of this consultancy is for a period of 4 months, upon signature of the contract.

Duties and Responsibilities Background

The importance of trade for inclusive growth and economic development is widely recognised in global economic discourses. Yet, African countries have not succeeded in fully harnessing the opportunities that trade offers for sustainable development. The level of trade on the continent has been low, with Africa accounting for about 3 percent of global exports, compared with 5.5 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean and 42.5 percent in Asia . In addition, trade in Africa is characterised by high external orientation. A large proportion of the continent’s exports goes to the European Union (EU) and Asian markets (34.0 percent and 37.5 percent, respectively), and a bulk of its imports is sourced from outside the continent (43.5 percent from Asia and 32.0 percent from Europe). The low level of intra-African trade (17.8 percent of exports and 14.6 percent of imports) contrasts the situation in Europe and Asia, where intra-regional trade is most pronounced. In 2020, about 67.7 percent and 58.3 percent of the total exports in Europe and Asia, respectively, were to trading partners within the same region (UNCTAD, 2022).

Furthermore, Africa’s exports to the rest of the world are highly concentrated in primary commodities (70 percent) and only a tiny share of manufacturing products consumed in other parts of the world (15 percent) is produced on the continent (UNCTAD, 2021a). Meanwhile, manufactured goods represent a large proportion of the intra-African exports, with processed and semi-processed goods contributing to nearly 61 percent of intra-continental exports (ibid). Hence, deeper intra-African trade offers greater opportunities for industrialisation, through market access, economies of scale in production and distribution, specialisation, and knowledge transfer. However, African countries continue to trade little among themselves, and enormous structural and political barriers have long constrained trade across the continent.

BIAT – AfCFTA Complementarity

In recognition of the role that intra-African trade can play in accelerating Africa’s structural transformation, in January 2012, the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union during its 18th Ordinary Session endorsed key decisions in favour of the establishment of the Pan African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and adopted the Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT). Whilst the CFTA envisages a process of trade liberalization to do away with the trade barriers hampering intra-African trade, BIAT represents a broader agenda to enhance African countries’ trade capacities, thereby enabling them to meaningfully benefit from greater integration. As shown by ECA’s research, the rationale for BIAT to complement the CFTA agenda stems from the fact that trade complementarity across African countries is bound to remain limited even after the liberalization entailed by the CFTA, unless a broader strategy to spur structural transformation is implemented. Conversely, if BIAT is successfully implemented and increasing levels of economic diversification is attained, the emergence of regional supply chains and intra-industry trade will enhance the positive development impacts of the CFTA.

The two interrelated initiatives complement many years of member states commitments to achieving regional and continental integration with the ultimate goal of accelerating economic growth and diversification, employment generation, integration into regional and global value chains, poverty reduction and overall welfare improvements of Africa’s population. The establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) is expected to boost intra-African trade through continental trade liberalisation. However, for the CFTA to play its role in building a strong African market that can effectively support the continent’s structural transformation agenda, further efforts will be needed to address the challenges highlighted in the BIAT Action Plan. The BIAT Action Plan contains seven major clusters aimed at addressing the key constraints and challenges of intra-Africa trade, namely: trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade-related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information and factor market integration. Under each of the clusters, the plan provides an indicative list of programmes and activities that need to be implemented in the short to long term at the national, regional and continental level.

BIAT Action Plan Clusters and arrangements for their implementation

The trade policy cluster emphasized interventions to fast-track intra-African trade development, such as mainstreaming continental and regional trade into national trade and development strategies, the adequate allocation of AU member states’ budgets to support implementation, the removal of trade barriers, services trade liberalization, and the harmonization of rules of origin and trade regimes. Under the trade facilitation cluster, activities such as reducing roadblocks, and simplifying customs and transit procedures, operationalize One-Stop Border Posts and ensuring an integrated border management (IBM) to cut by half the time associated with cross-border trade were to be prioritized.

To boost productive capacity on the continent and support regional and continental value chains development and complementarity, the effective implementation of existing projects – such as the AIDA , ATII , APCI , MIP and the 3ADI -- and the integration of trade information systems were emphasized. The harmonization of investment regulations and the creation of a regional innovation center in each REC were also among the actions to be undertaken. Under the trade-related infrastructure cluster, various stakeholders are expected to prioritize the implementation of the Programme of Infrastructural Development in Africa (PIDA), the recapitalization of Pan-African investment funds, to increase the number of high-quality multi-country infrastructural projects and to facilitate public-private partnerships in infrastructural development at all levels.

In order to strengthen the role of financial institutions and mechanisms in fostering intra-African trade under the fifth cluster, short-term actions such as nations’ subscription to Afreximbank, Trade and Development Bank (TDB) and the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), facilitation of cross-border payments, increasing the availability of export credit and reducing cost of capital are to be undertaken. The sixth cluster requested member states and relevant stakeholders to create centers for trade information sharing, support inter-connection between centers and develop mechanisms for multi-country infrastructure and industrial projects. Lastly, under factor market integration, the ratification and implementation of the protocols on free movement of people and labor migration, facilitation of entry for businesspeople, harmonization of regulations for cross-country investment, and ensuring the mutual recognition of qualifications in the short-term are the key actions required from AU member states and RECs.

For each cluster, the AU Assembly of State and Government in its January 2012 session also adopted several indicators for monitoring progress on the implementation of the action plan. For example, under the trade policy cluster, some of the targets are concerned with the removal of tariffs and non-tariff restrictions in food products. Moreover, under the trade-related infrastructure cluster, one of the activities is the mobilization of resources for the preparation of multi-country infrastructure projects.

To ensure that the BIAT initiative achieves its objectives the AU Summit established a High-Level African Trade Committee (HATC), comprising of Heads of State and Government (the Chairs of the RECs) to play a facilitating role and unlock any bottlenecks that might arise in the implementation of the BIAT and CFTA agenda. The 2012 BIAT Action Plan also proposed the following monitoring and evaluation structure:

- The establishment of a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Mechanism to serve as an “early warning process” and to generate evidence-based recommendations. This would provide for the establishment of a M&E Committee comprised of the AUC, the RECs, UNECA, African Development Bank (AfDB), African Export-Import (AFREXIM) Bank, and continental and regional Chambers of Commerce and Industry, who would report to the Conference of Ministers of Trade. - A statutory Comprehensive Review and Evaluation exercise after every two years to assess the level of implementation, achievement of targets, benchmarks and milestones and suggest remedial actions to any identified obstacles. The Committee for M&E would organise the comprehensive review exercise, while the AUC would provide the Secretariat. - The establishment of a functional trade observatory in the AUC Department for Trade and Industry to gather trade information and statistics for the proposed M&E process.

Following the endorsement of the BIAT and CFTA agendas, various consultative meetings were organised at the national and regional levels in collaboration with the AUC, UNECA and AfDB, to facilitate dialogue among member states and the private sector, initiate the process of preparing implementation strategy documents and reach possible agreement on joint resource mobilization strategies. At RECs level, meetings were held by EAC in November 2014, ECOWAS in November 2015, SADC in May 2014, AMU in June 2014, and ECCAS in July 2014. As of 2016, regional and national CFTA–BIAT action plans had been drafted for AMU, Nigeria and the United Republic of Tanzania, while others like ECCAS, Gabon and Tunisia were in the process of preparing their plans (ECA, 2016). However, little is known about the domestication of BIAT as well as the level of progress that has been made on its implementation at the regional and national levels, as well as challenges that might have arisen along the way.

Taking stock of the implementation of BIAT Action Plan: A Justification

Over the years, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has played a key role in supporting the implementation of BIAT in AU member states and RECs and an active role in promoting trade integration on the continent. A decade after the historic adoption of the BIAT action plan in 2012, it is important to interrogate what has been the fate of the framework. The key objective of the Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD)-envisaged report on BIAT is to take stock of the levels of implementation of initiative, in terms of how much progress has been made, challenges that have been faced, how these have been addressed, as well as interventions/actions that need to be taken to reinvigorate the framework with a view ensuring that it serves as the envisioned enabler of the AfCFTA and Africa’s deeper integration.

Specifically, the report will among others, attempt to answer the following questions:

• What has been the progress on the implementation of the BIAT action plan at the national, regional and continental levels?
• What are the main challenges and causes of implementation delays and failures of the BIAT framework, and what are the factors explaining success stories and what are the factors accounting for failures in some areas?
• What lessons can be derived from the experience of member states, RECs and relevant stakeholders from the process and what corrective measures need to be put in place to circumvent or reduce the constraints?
• What are the implications of BIAT and the level of its deployment for the successful implementation of the AfCFTA?

As acknowledged by various stakeholders, achieving the objectives of BIAT as well as the AfCFTA requires high-level commitment to implementation on the part of member states and RECs. In Africa, the recurring challenges to the regional integration agenda has been the lack of enforcement and effective implementation on the part of member states of various protocols, frameworks and agendas that are adopted, the lack of monitoring and evaluation to access progress, and take expeditious measures for improvements. Taking stock of BIAT implementation at the national, regional and continental levels is therefore critical, if countries are to capitalize on the gains and take corrective actions for the future.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of the Regional Integration Section and the overall guidance of the ECA Director of the Regional Integration and Trade Division (RITD), the consultant will be required to:

1) Review and analyse the (varying) levels of implementation of the seven clusters of the BIAT (trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade-related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information and factor market integration) at RECs and member States level 2) Establish whether member states, RECs or/and other stakeholders have successfully conducted the programmes/activities specified under each cluster or reached specific targets. 3) Identify and analyse challenges encountered on each cluster by member states, RECs and other relevant stakeholders as well as the lessons learnt during the 10-year implementation of BIAT. 4) Analyze the existing policy instruments and provide recommendations, with an emphasis on critical actions that could be taken in the short, medium and long-term to address identified bottlenecks. 5) Examine the relation between BIAT and AfCFTA, including their complementarity and analyse the implications of the pace of implementation of BIAT on the AfCFTA. 6) Highlight successful country/REC-level case studies of successful implementation of BIAT which could be replicated; 7) Provide concrete and actionable recommendations on how to accelerate the implementation of the BIAT Action Plan, as well as articulate an advocacy strategy to facilitate buy-in and action by relevant stakeholders for BIAT implementation in support of the AfCFTA.

Qualifications/special skills Competency: - In-depth understanding of regional integration and technical understanding of trade and economic growth and development in Africa - A thorough knowledge of the role of trade as an engine for inclusive growth and development - Proven research experience and publications in trade within the context of African regional integration - Substantial experience in practical policy work in developing countries, preferably in Africa. - Demonstrated effective oral and written communication skills, supported by a sound academic publication record. - Excellent analytical and quantitative skills. - Demonstrated ability to edit reports on regional integration, trade, trade facilitation, economic and social issues of relevance to Africa’s development and a reputation for timely and quality delivery.

Skills: A track record of refereed publications in reputable international journals, books or book chapters on trade matters and regional integration is required. Capacity to deliver output in a timely manner and ability to use relevant computer technology as well as experience in editing reports are also required.

Academic Qualifications: A minimums of a Masters Degree in International Trade, International Trade Policy, Trade facilitation, International Economics, Development Economics, political economy, Law or other relevant fields is required.

Experience: A minimum of at least 10 years of relevant work experience in the field of regional integration and trade policy analysis and research in Africa is required. Proven experience in trade negotiations and advising African countries on trade policy at national, regional, continental and international level is strongly desirable.

Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations. For this post fluency in oral and written English is required.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: careers.un.org