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THE COSTS OF RULES OF ORIGIN IN APPAREL: African preferential exports to the United States and the European Union

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  • Alberto Portugal-Perez

Abstract

The European Union and the United States offer, simultaneously, preferential market access to exports of a group of African countries. Although similar regarding the extent of preferences for apparel, a key sector for least developed countries, these agreements differ as regards rules of origin (RoO). While the Everything But Arms initiative and the Cotonou Agreement require yarn to be woven into fabric and then made up into apparel in the same country or in a country qualifying for cumulation, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) grants a special regime to “lesser developed countries”, which allows them to use fabric of any origin and still meet the criteria for preferences, thus making a case for a natural experiment. This paper aims to assess econometrically the impact of different RoO on those African countries' exports. The main finding is that relaxing RoO by allowing the use of fabric of any origin increased exports of apparel by about 300 per cent for the top seven beneficiaries of AGOA’s special regime, and broadened the range of apparel exported by those countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Portugal-Perez, 2008. "THE COSTS OF RULES OF ORIGIN IN APPAREL: African preferential exports to the United States and the European Union," UNCTAD Blue Series Papers 39, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    • Handle: RePEc:unc:blupap:39
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    File URL: https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/itcdtab40_en.pdf?Repec
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    Cited by:

    1. Lawrence Edwards & Robert Z. Lawrence, 2014. "AGOA Rules: The Intended and Unintended Consequences of Special Fabric Provisions," NBER Chapters, in: African Successes, Volume III: Modernization and Development, pages 343-393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Behar, Alberto & Edwards, Lawrence, 2011. "How integrated is SADC ? trends in intra-regional and extra-regional trade flows and policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5625, The World Bank.
    3. Anna Andersson, 2016. "Export Performance and Access to Intermediate Inputs: The Case of Rules of Origin Liberalisation," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(8), pages 1048-1079, August.
    4. World Bank, 2011. "Fostering Technology Absorption in Southern African Enterprises," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2356, December.
    5. Maria Cipollina, 2022. "The Trade Growth under the EU–SADC Economic Partnership Agreement: An Empirical Assessment," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, November.
    6. John Pickles, 2012. "South African horticulture: opportunities and challenges for economic and social upgrading in value chains," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2012-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    7. Bouët Antoine & Laborde-Debucquet David & Dienesch Elisa & Elliott Kimberly, 2012. "The Costs and Benefits of Duty-Free, Quota-Free Market Access for Poor Countries: Who and What Matters," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 3(1), pages 1-27, June.

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