174
AFRICA
’
S
SILK ROAD:
CHINA AND INDIA
’
S NEW ECONOMIC FRONTIER
tiles
and clothing, the optimism of the mining companies maybe overstated,
because China’s tariff on metallic ores is already close to zero.
To ease the concern of South African textile and clothing companies,
China agreed to limit the growth of its
textile and garment exports toSouth Africa, taking a voluntary export restraint measure. South African policymakers are in a dilemma while some labor-intensive domestic industries might experience revenue reduction and unemployment, consumers can immediately enjoy the benefits of low-priced products imported from China.
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Unilateral preferential tariff arrangements such as AGOA and EBA focus on granting market access to goods. However, deeper bilateral and interre- gional economic integration initiatives, such as FTAs and economic partnership agreements (EPAs), could potentially provide new and additional opportunities for African countries to enhance their trade activities. The fact that African governments in general welcome Chinese investments more than they do Chinese products provides
opportunities for Africa andAsia to pursue FTAs on a much broader base, including investments and services trade, such as financial services and tourism.
Regional Trade Agreements Among African CountriesThe general benefits of FTAs or RTAs are realized through two main channels (i) by competition and scale effects, and (ii) by trade and location effects. Not surprisingly, many regional integration agreements (RIAs) are currently in force in Africa to expand the economic and geographic horizons of small African economies. The
major RIAs are shown in table3.15.
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African economies remain relatively fragmented compared to
TABLE 3.14
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