This three-volume set presents results of a research project initiated by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). Titled Africa and the World Trading System, the project intended to identify and examine the critical analytical and policy issues involved in Africa’s economic links with the rest of the world, particularly in the context of the emerging global trading system. Conducted by some of the leading specialists in African and global trade issues, the project had two distinct but closely inter-related component parts. The first consisted of research that was analytical and/or empirical in nature but region-wide in scope and focus. This component was designed to provide the framework for the selection of the menu of issues that was subsequently explored in greater detail, using the country case study approach, in the project’s second component. The framework papers generated in the first component of the project are presented in Volume I, while the country case studies are contained in Volume II. Volume III contains papers presented at the project’s dissemination workshop.

This second component of the project consists of case studies of eight African countries. It focused on the following national-level issues:

· Analysis of the changes in each case study country’s external market access conditions resulting from the Uruguay Round Agreements, an assessment of the impact of these changes and the implications for the country’s priorities in future multilateral trade negotiations.
· A review of whether and the extent to which the new WTO disciplines constrain the policy autonomy of case study countries, and whether their domestic trade and related policies are compatible or in conflict with the new multilateral rules.
· An exploration of the consistency or otherwise of the regional and multilateral commitments of the case study countries.
· An examination of the countries’ capacity to fulfil their WTO obligations, defend their rights and effectively participate in the WTO process.

The papers generated by the case study component of the project are presented in this volume.

ABOUT THE EDITORS
ADEMOLA OYEJIDE, a Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and Executive Director, Development Policy Center is also a member of the advisory panel for the World Trade Organization. A specialist in trade, trade policy, and regional integration, he holds a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.

DOMINIQUE NJINKEU is the Executive Director of the International Lawyers and Economists Against Poverty (ILEAP) and formerly deputy director of Research of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). He holds a Ph.D in Economics, a Master Degree in Economics and Statistics and a Masters Degree in Agribusiness economics. His research interests are in trade policy and African Development.

CATEGORY
Economics/AFRICA