IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijoeps/v19y2025i1d10.1007_s42495-024-00149-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of the European Union trade policies on Africa: evidence from Africa’s domestic and the EU markets

Author

Listed:
  • Olayinka Idowu Kareem

    (University of Hohenheim)

Abstract

Trade policies and practices are characterized by the economic, political and socio-cultural philosophy of the implementing country. The EU is Africa’s largest agri-food trade partner but Africa’s exports to this market have plummeted which in part has been attributed to the export quality and market access conditions. However, the EU agri-food export base to Africa has been increasing. The extensiveness of these agri-food exports could impact Africa’s agri-food system competitiveness. Simultaneously, the inability of Africa’s commodities exports to intensively access the EU markets due to the technical measures has implications for Africa’s sustainable economic growth. Thus, this study investigates Africa’s commodity and export effects of the EU trade policies. The empirical findings suggest a contrary result to the dominant contextual perspective that the EU trade policy adversely impacts Africa’s commodities competitiveness. This study proposes extensive investments in agri-food system-related quality infrastructure to propel the sustainable transformation of Africa’s food system.

Suggested Citation

  • Olayinka Idowu Kareem, 2025. "The effects of the European Union trade policies on Africa: evidence from Africa’s domestic and the EU markets," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 231-253, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijoeps:v:19:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s42495-024-00149-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s42495-024-00149-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s42495-024-00149-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s42495-024-00149-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simon W. Schlueter & Christine Wieck & Thomas Heckelei, 2009. "Regulatory Policies in Meat Trade: Is There Evidence for Least Trade-distorting Sanitary Regulations?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1484-1490.
    2. repec:lic:licosd:39217 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Bo Xiong & John Beghin, 2017. "Disentangling Demand-Enhancing And Trade-Cost Effects Of Maximum Residue Regulations," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 6, pages 105-108, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Fatima Olanike Kareem & Bernhard Brümmer & Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso, 2017. "European Union Market Access Conditions and Africa's Extensive Margin of Food Trade," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(10), pages 2277-2300, October.
    5. Dela‐Dem Doe Fiankor & Inmaculada Martínez‐Zarzoso & Bernhard Brümmer, 2019. "Exports and governance: the role of private voluntary agrifood standards," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 50(3), pages 341-352, May.
    6. Chemnitz, Christine & Grethe, Harald & Kleinwechter, Ulrich, 2007. "Quality Standards for Food Products - A Particular Burden for Small Producers in Developing Countries?," 106th Seminar, October 25-27, 2007, Montpellier, France 7926, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, 2011. "The European Union's Trade Policies and Africa's Exports," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 12(2), pages 49-64, April.
    8. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Zakaria Sorgho & Joe Tharakan, 2019. "Assessing the impact of unilateral trade policies EBA and AGOA on African beneficiaries' exports using matching econometrics," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(10), pages 3086-3118, October.
    10. Maertens, Miet & Swinnen, Johan F.M., 2009. "Trade, Standards, and Poverty: Evidence from Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 161-178, January.
    11. Elhanan Helpman & Marc Melitz & Yona Rubinstein, 2008. "Estimating Trade Flows: Trading Partners and Trading Volumes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 441-487.
    12. Kareem, Olayinka Idowu, 2016. "Food safety regulations and fish trade: Evidence from European Union-Africa trade relations," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 18-25.
    13. Isabel Knößlsdorfer & Matin Qaim, 2023. "Cheap chicken in Africa: Would import restrictions be pro-poor?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(3), pages 791-804, June.
    14. Chibanda, Craig & Almadani, Mohamad Isam & Thobe, Petra & Wieck, Christine, 2022. "Broiler production systems in Ghana: economics and the impact of frozen chicken imports," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 25(4), September.
    15. Baldwin, Richard, 2007. "Trade Effects of the Euro: a Comparison of Estimators," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 22, pages 780-818.
    16. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    17. Gebrehiwet, Yemane & Ngqangweni, Simphiwe & Kirsten, Johann F., 2007. "Quantifying the Trade Effect of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Regulations of OECD Countries on South African Food Exports," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 46(01), pages 1-17, March.
    18. Ferro, Esteban & Otsuki, Tsunehiro & Wilson, John S., 2015. "The effect of product standards on agricultural exports," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 68-79.
    19. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, 2016. "The High-Value Commodity Export Effects of Standards in Africa," The International Trade Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 237-259, May.
    20. Otsuki, Tsunehiro & Wilson, John S. & Sewadeh, Mirvat, 2001. "Saving two in a billion: : quantifying the trade effect of European food safety standards on African exports," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 495-514, October.
    21. Sorgho, Zakaria & Tharakan, Joe, 2019. "Assessing the impact of unilateral trade policies EBA and AGOA on African beneficiaries' exports using matching econometrics," LIDAM Reprints CORE 3087, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    22. Kareem, Fatima Olanike & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2020. "Are EU standards detrimental to Africa’s exports?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 1022-1037.
    23. Spencer Henson & Steven Jaffee, 2008. "Understanding Developing Country Strategic Responses to the Enhancement of Food Safety Standards," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 548-568, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kareem, Olayinka Idowu, 2022. "Fruit safety regulations in the transatlantic region: How are Africa’s exports faring with the regulations?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 886-902.
    2. Kareem, Olayinka Idowu, 2016. "Food safety regulations and fish trade: Evidence from European Union-Africa trade relations," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 18-25.
    3. Fabio Gaetano Santeramo & Emilia Lamonaca, 2019. "On the impact of non-tariff measures on trade performances of the African agri-food sector," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 389-406, October.
    4. Santeramo, Fabio G., 2017. "On Non-Tariff Measures and Changes in Trade Routes: From North-North to South-South Trade?," 2017 International Congress, August 28-September 1, 2017, Parma, Italy 263493, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Dela-Dem Doe Fiankor & Daniele Curzi & Alessandro Olper, 2021. "Trade, price and quality upgrading effects of agri-food standards [Endogenous Trade Policy with Heterogeneous Firms]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(4), pages 835-877.
    6. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, 2014. "The European Union Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Africa’s Exports," RSCAS Working Papers 2014/98, European University Institute.
    7. Kareem, Fatima Olanike & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada, 2020. "Are EU standards detrimental to Africa’s exports?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 1022-1037.
    8. Annalisa Zezza & Federica Demaria & Maria Rosaria Pupo d'Andrea & Jo Swinnen & Giulia Meloni & Senne Vandevelde & Alessandro Olper & Daniele Curzi & Valentina Raimondi & Sophie Drogue, 2018. "Research for AGRI Committee - Agricultural trade: assessing reciprocity of standards," Working Papers hal-02787948, HAL.
    9. Adrián Rabadán & Ángela Triguero, 2021. "Influence of food safety standards on trade: Evidence from the pistachio sector," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(3), pages 489-514, July.
    10. Fabio Gaetano Santeramo & Emilia Lamonaca, 2019. "The Effects of Non‐tariff Measures on Agri‐food Trade: A Review and Meta‐analysis of Empirical Evidence," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(3), pages 595-617, September.
    11. Kareem, Fatima Olanike & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Brümmer, Bernhard, 2018. "Protecting health or protecting imports? Evidence from EU non-tariff measures," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 185-202.
    12. Jacob Wood & Jie Wu & Yilin Li & Jungsuk Kim, 2019. "The Impact of TBT and SPS Measures on Japanese and Korean Exports to China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-23, November.
    13. Dela-Dem Doe Fiankor & Insa Flachsbarth & Amjad Masood & Bernhard Brümmer, 2020. "Does GlobalGAP certification promote agrifood exports? [Standards as barriers versus standards as catalysts: assessing the impact of HACCP implementation on US seafood imports]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 47(1), pages 247-272.
    14. Curzi, Daniele & Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet & Olper, Alessandro, 2020. "Standards, trade margins and product quality: Firm-level evidence from Peru," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    15. Vural, Burçak Müge & Akgüngör, E. Sedef, 2019. "Quantifying the Trade and Welfare Effects of EU Aflatoxin Regulations on the Dried Fruit Industry," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 68(2), June.
    16. Ehrich, Malte & Mangelsdorf, Axel, 2016. "The Role of Private Standards for Manufactured Food Exports from Developing Countries," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 243400, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    17. Kareem, Fatima Olanike & Martinez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Brümmer, Bernhard, 2016. "Protecting Health or Protecting Imports? Evidence from EU Non-Tariff Barriers," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 241267, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    18. Wilson, Norbert L. W., 2017. "Labels, Food Safety, and International Trade," ADBI Working Papers 657, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    19. Hejazi, Mina & Grant, Jason H. & Peterson, Everett, 2022. "Trade impact of maximum residue limits in fresh fruits and vegetables," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    20. Aristide Djimgou Tchakounte & Dela-Dem Doe Fiankor, 2021. "Trade Costs and Demand-Enhancing Effects of Agrifood Standards: Consequences for Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of African Trade, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 51-64, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade policies; Agri-food competitiveness; Impact; The EU; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C87 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Econometric Software
    • F42 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance - - - International Policy Coordination and Transmission

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ijoeps:v:19:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s42495-024-00149-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.