The Changing Global Trade Architecture: Implications for Africa's Regional Integration and Development

摘要

This article analyses the trends in global trade since the beginning of the new millennium and discusses the implications of these trends for Africa's regional integration agenda. The article argues that the mainstream narrative of market and linear integration is inappropriate for Africa and should be replaced by a development integration approach. It calls for Africa's main trading partners; the EU, the US and China to align their trade relationships with Africa in support of Africa's own vision and Programme for regional integration reflected in the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and Agenda 2063.