Global Value Chain in West Africa, does trade facilitation matters?

The development of the global value chains has shown that all economies could benefit from globalisation. However, the lack of enablers and reforms have push down many countries out of that scene. In such circumstances, trade facilitation appears as a crucial tool to mitigate the lack of participation of such countries in the international market. Several countries have initiated policy responses to take necessary steps towards trade facilitation. One question assessed in this study is to analyzed the effects of such reforms on West African countries’ participation in the global production network. Based on existing theories, such as the fragmentation theory and the search and matching theory, this study assesses survival exports from West African countries. It utilizes data from the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) over the 1996 - 2019 period. The results show that trade facilitation measures influence survival of trade. Moreover, the study finds the quality of institutions have considerable effects on both the global value chain participation and also on trade facilitation reforms. Several relevant insights for policymakers can be drawn as African countries are implementing the new continental trade agreement. Reforms should target more non-tariffs trade facilitation and relying on international coordination.