Publication Number: 3442

Report Title: International Economic Review: Assessing the Desirability of a Free-Trade Area in Southern Africa; Russia’s WTO Accession: Many Hurdles Remain; Renewal and Expansion of ATPA Could Enhance Effectiveness of the Program

Author's name(s): Laurie-Ann Agama, James Stamps, Walker Pollard

Date Published: August 2001

Report Description/Introductory Text: “Assessing the Desirability of a Free-Trade Area in Southern Africa” explores how the theory of economic integration can be used to assess the desirability of forming a free-trade area. However, the traditional theory deals almost exclusively with industrial economies. For developing regions, the importance of dynamic and static factors in explaining the effects of integration must also be considered.

“Russia’s WTO Accession: Many Hurdles Remain” discusses the various hindrances to Russia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession. Since beginning his term of office in 2000, President Putin has made accession to the WTO the country’s top economic priority. Russia applied for WTO admission in 1993, but progress toward accession has been uneven over the years. Russia still must complete steps that do not appear to lead to accession until 2002, at the earliest.

“Renewal and Expansion of ATPA Could Enhance Effectiveness of the Program” describes how the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), which was intended to expand economic opportunities in beneficiary countries as an alterative to illegal drug activities, is under consideration for renewal and expansion. The effectiveness of the current ATPA program is limited because of the limited nature of trade preferences included in ATPA. Renewal of ATPA beyond December 2001 that includes expansion of product eligibility similar to that in the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act of 2000 would greatly enhance possibilities for expanded exports by ATPA countries to the United States.

Topics Covered: USITC, free trade area (FTA), Southern Africa, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), economic effects, economic integration, regional trade agreement (RTA), World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO accession, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), non-market economy, market-oriented economic reforms, Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), U.S. Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), illegal drugs

Countries: Angola, Botswana, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Russia, United States, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

HTS Numbers: 7403.11.00, 3212.90.00

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