Trade policy
Agriculture and the WTO in Africa: understand to act
Tools for African trade negotiators and activists
Authors:
M.C. Lebret (ed); A. Alpha (ed)
Publisher:
Groupe de recherche et d'échanges technologiques , 2007
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) defines rules on the international trade in goods and services, and these rules have consequences for national policies. An arena for decision that claims to be democratic, the WTO is an arena where countries with different socioeconomic and political weights and diverging interests confront each other.
African countries have always struggled to participate fully in this organisation. They are unable to influence its decisions, running the risk of not having their concerns heard and having inadequate multilateral rules on public policy elaboration imposed upon them. They have many obstacles before them. In addition to their under-representation at WTO headquarters because of insufficient economic and human resources, there is the complexity of WTO bodies, rules and procedures, and the difficulty understanding the stakes behind development choices.
The purpose of this book is to provide guidance in understanding how international trade institutions and agreements operate. Its aim is to provide those in charge of civil society organisations in sub-Saharan Africa with tools and references to better understand the stakes behind, and means for, their participation in world trade. Organised around descriptive and factual texts, this work contains many definitions and is illustrated by concrete experiences that facilitate reading.
