The Centre for Risk Analysis (CRA), located in South Africa, released a research paper last month that gives a detailed account of South Africa’s trading landscape. The report comes at a critical time for the nation’s economy, which has been underperforming. Incomes have not been growing, the currency is plummeting in value, and unemployment remains a persistent problem.
Perhaps what is even more surprising though, and possibly worrying, is the fact that despite the many advantages that South Africa has (long coastline with many harbors, a strong manufacturing base, better energy supplies than other countries on the continent), the nation’s trade environment is not thriving. South Africa should be a beacon of sound trade policy that helps make its citizens better off, but that is not currently the case.
The report goes on to lay out the sad reality: the reason why the country is not benefiting from trade is because of poor government policy. It is not as if South Africa can’t compete in the global economy, it is because the government that runs South Africa puts unnecessary burdens on the backs of the nation’s producers by refusing to foster an environment that supports economic freedom, which has been shown to lead to growth.
The full report is certainly worth a read for anyone interested in South African trade policy. Some of the recommendations that the authors propose include the following: (1) improve the physical infrastructure that the nation’s private sector relies upon, (2) vigorously eliminate non-tariff barriers that stifle the free flow of goods and services across South Africa’s border, (3) understand and support the relationship between free trade and poverty alleviation, and (4) abide by the principles of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to ensure that tariffs are being lowered in a timely and efficient manner.
CRA’s analysis comes at a critical time for the African continent, and the paper’s findings have important implications for the rest of the continent. Trade and economic growth go together, and for a region that is the poorest in the world, finding ways to enjoy that growth is important not only for the Africans that currently live on the continent, but for the hundreds of millions that will come in future generations. Where economic freedom thrives, people thrive. Let’s hope that things start changing in South Africa soon.
Alexander Jelloian
Alexander Jelloian is the Research and Project Manager at the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity.
The Centre for Risk Analysis (CRA), located in South Africa, released a research paper last month that gives a detailed account of South Africa’s trading landscape. The report comes at a critical time for the nation’s economy, which has been underperforming. Incomes have not been growing, the currency is plummeting in value, and unemployment remains a persistent problem.
Perhaps what is even more surprising though, and possibly worrying, is the fact that despite the many advantages that South Africa has (long coastline with many harbors, a strong manufacturing base, better energy supplies than other countries on the continent), the nation’s trade environment is not thriving. South Africa should be a beacon of sound trade policy that helps make its citizens better off, but that is not currently the case.
The report goes on to lay out the sad reality: the reason why the country is not benefiting from trade is because of poor government policy. It is not as if South Africa can’t compete in the global economy, it is because the government that runs South Africa puts unnecessary burdens on the backs of the nation’s producers by refusing to foster an environment that supports economic freedom, which has been shown to lead to growth.
The full report is certainly worth a read for anyone interested in South African trade policy. Some of the recommendations that the authors propose include the following: (1) improve the physical infrastructure that the nation’s private sector relies upon, (2) vigorously eliminate non-tariff barriers that stifle the free flow of goods and services across South Africa’s border, (3) understand and support the relationship between free trade and poverty alleviation, and (4) abide by the principles of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to ensure that tariffs are being lowered in a timely and efficient manner.
CRA’s analysis comes at a critical time for the African continent, and the paper’s findings have important implications for the rest of the continent. Trade and economic growth go together, and for a region that is the poorest in the world, finding ways to enjoy that growth is important not only for the Africans that currently live on the continent, but for the hundreds of millions that will come in future generations. Where economic freedom thrives, people thrive. Let’s hope that things start changing in South Africa soon.
Alexander Jelloian
Alexander Jelloian is the Research and Project Manager at the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity.