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Customs Reforms in Developing Countries, new approaches needed

Friday, 12 May 2023 06:18

A note from the World Bank clarifies some of the main challenges that customs reforms face in developing countries, and particularly in low-income countries (LICs), with the possible approaches that can be followed in order to increase their efficiency. Customs reforms, the report notes, are complex because they have to find the right balance between three fundamental functions that customs administrations perform, so that none of them outweighs the others. These functions are: facilitating trade, collecting revenue, and ensuring the security of imports at the border.

New ‘soft enforcement mechanism’ aims at pushing AfCFTA States Parties to fulfill their implementation commitments

Thursday, 11 May 2023 05:50

On 30^th October 2022, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a Specialized Agency of the African Union (AU), in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat held a three (3)-day continental meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, to discuss the development of an AfCFTA Trade Policy Review Mechanism (AfTPRM) to monitor the respect by African States of their commitments under the AfCFTA. Since then, the process has been moving forward, and recently, on 10 May 2023, a consultative meeting was held in Abuja, Nigeria, to advance work for the establishment of the AfTPRM.

Ocean-based goods, an untapped potential of Africa

Wednesday, 10 May 2023 04:59

A new report prepared by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) with the contribution of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) analyses the opportunities offered by the ocean economy as a driver of international economic growth. According to the report, the value of the ocean economy, globally, ranges between $3 trillion to $6 trillion per year, sustaining at least 150 million direct jobs across a wide range of sectors, including (but not limited to) fishing, aquaculture, shipping, tourism, offshore wind energy, oil and gas, mining and marine biotechnology.

World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index available

Saturday, 22 April 2023 07:13

The World Bank has issued the 2023 edition of the Logistics Performance Index (LPI), an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries to identify the challenges and opportunities they face in trade logistics and what they can do to improve the performance of such a sector. The LPI indicators are built on the basis of a specific methodology which includes specific surveys conducted on international logistics operators (global freight forwarders and express carriers), complemented by other information and data provided by other academic and professional sources.

Harmonising road transport regulatory instruments in Africa

Friday, 21 April 2023 08:18

Today is the last day of the four-days continental workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa, to examine the status of harmonisation of Africa's cross-border road transport regulatory frameworks. Organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) in partnership with the European Union (EU)-funded Tripartite Transport and Transit Facilitation Programme (TTTFP), the workshop analysed best practices on policies and standards on road transport regulation harmonisation in Africa, including proposals for developing a Vehicle Load Management (VLM) strategy aimed at ensuring harmonised vehicle overload controls over the roads within the entire continent.

News

Customs Reforms in Developing Countries, new approaches needed

New ‘soft enforcement mechanism’ aims at pushing AfCFTA States Parties to fulfill their implementation commitments

Ocean-based goods, an untapped potential of Africa

World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index available

Harmonising road transport regulatory instruments in Africa

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