Promoting trade is not just about signing agreements. It is mainly about addressing the underlying challenges, especially financing barriers and lack of skilled labour. This was one of the key messages that came out of a discussion held at the Swedish embassy in Cairo in December.

These days when global economies are preparing for trade wars, the challenge of tariffs gets a lot of attention. But when a group of 30 specially invited stakeholders from African and Nordic trade and industry companies, embassies and civil society organisations met for a roundtable discussion in Cairo in December, it was not tariffs but rather non-tariff barriers that stole the attention. Non-tariff barriers are measures, other than tariffs, that restrict international trade. These are for example quotas, embargoes, government subsidies, technical regulations and licensing requirements.

“Non-tariff barriers are generally much higher in Africa than elsewhere in the world. According to the World Bank they push up intra-African trade costs by as much as 292 per cent”, said Economist Assem Abu Hatab, senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute and one of the presenters at the roundtable.

One of the solutions discussed at the roundtable was a deal that promotes trade between Europe and Africa. Assem Abu Hatab argued that it is not the signing of an agreement in itself that matters for trade development. The African Union, as well as the regional communities and individual countries on the continent, have already seen the signing of many trade agreements, and a lot of them have failed. The key for success lays in the steps that follow, in how you manage the adjustments that follow after the signing. Assem Abu-Hatab emphasised that Europe has long experience of such transformation processes, and that African countries could learn from them.

“Trade agreements always come with winners and losers. The experience of the European Union has a lot to offer to African countries”, he said.

Political scientist Liisa Laakso, senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, linked the issue of trade to the rising challenges of digitalisation and green transition. Developments like these require a well-trained workforce, and Liisa Laakso highlights that education cooperation between the two continents is key to avoid a lack of skilled labour and rising unemployment.

“Education cooperation is low cost and potentially high gains at low risk. More efforts and investments are needed”, she said.

The roundtable on Africa’s trade potential was held on 4 December at the Swedish embassy in Kairo, Egypt. It was hosted by the Swedish and Finnish Embassies together, co-organised by the Nordic Africa Institute, and attended by some 30 specially invited stakeholders from African and Nordic trade and industry companies, embassies, civil society organisations, etc.