Consultancy to Develop Country Case Studies on the Implementation of the ‘African Growth and Opportunity Act’ (AGOA)

• Country: Zimbabwe
• Summary: Consultancy to Develop Country Case Studies on the Implementation of the ‘African Growth and Opportunity Act’ (AGOA)
• ZWT Ref No: 16186906
• Deadline: 13 Sep 2017
• Financier: African Development Bank (AfDB)
• Purchaser Ownership: Government
• Tender Value: Refer Document
• Notice Type: Tender
• Document Ref. No.: ACBF/EOI/054/17/NRF
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• Description:
• Expression of Interest are invited for Consultancy to Develop Country Case Studies on the Implementation of the ‘African Growth and Opportunity Act’ (Agoa). 1. Introduction: Established in 1991 for and by African countries and their partners, the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) builds human and institutional capacity with a vision to see “Africa capable of achieving its own development”. It has a mission to build strategic partnerships, offer technical support, and provide access to relevant knowledge related to capacity building in Africa. To date the Foundation has invested over USD 700 million in building institutional and human capacities in more than 45 countries and 6 regional economic communities. It is recognized by continental bodies as an African knowledge and capacity building service provider of choice for more than 26 years. It is also seen as having unique knowledge of Africa’s capacity building landscape, with in-depth understanding of the capacity needs of African countries and playing a lead role in assessing capacity with national partners. Since 2017, ACBF is African Union’s officially designated specialized agency for capacity development. ACBF received a grant from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and intends to apply part of the proceeding to engage individual consultants to produce case studies on the implementation of the “African Growth and Opportunity Act” (AGOA) at country level. ACBF now invites eligible individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services. 2. Background Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries play only a marginal role in world trade. The region is characterized by weak export growth, poor diversification and low foreign investment levels[1]. Among the key trade partners of SSA, the United States of America (USA) is the largest single country market. Therefore, the USA has developed different mechanisms to help SSA overcome its trade challenges and improve the Africa-USA trade relationships both in volume and quality. The “African Growth and Opportunity Act” (AGOA) is the most prominent among those mechanisms. AGOA was signed into law by the US Congress in May 2000. Thirty-eight SSA countries were eligible for AGOA benefits in 2016. The principal objective of AGOA was to facilitate the integration of Sub-Saharan African countries into the global economy by providing preferential access to the US market for exporters from these countries. Total SSA exports to the United States under AGOA increased substantially from $8.2 billion in 2001 to a peak of $66.3 billion in 2008 before declining to $9.3 billion in 2015 mainly due to the U.S. recession in 2009 and a sharp decline in oil exports[2]. Top SSA exports to the United States in 2015 were mineral fuels (crude), precious metals, motor vehicles and parts, cocoa, ores, iron and steel. Similar trends are observed for the total USA exports to SSA which increased by 202 percent from 2000 to 2015. Initially due to expire in 2008, AGOA has been extended two times and the new expiry date is 2025. After more than 16 years of implementation, and despite the benefits to be derived from the AGOA[3], some critical questions need to be addressed as African countries continue benefiting from trade preferences like AGOA. Has AGOA impacted Africa’s trade and Africa’s socio-economic development? What are the challenges, lessons learnt and opportunities in the implementation of AGOA? What is the way forward for African countries to increase their benefits from AGOA and similar trade schemes? Examining AGOA in the overall context of trade in the different African countries, there are at least three reasons for which documenting AGOA experience is relevant and timely: · First, there is a body of evidence that shows that exports from SSA to the US have increased substantially since 2000, with an increasing share of these exports utilising AGOA preferences. However, these exports seem to be dominated by the apparel industry largely from countries like Lesotho, Malawi and Madagascar[4] and oil exports from resource rich countries like Nigeria and Angola[5]. This stresses the need to learn more about the impact of AGOA on trade in African countries and propose evidence-based strategies to diversify the trade structure within the AGOA framework. · Second, Africa has seen an increase of (new) players of international trade who are also improving their trade relations with the continent. One key example is China whose trade relationship with Africa has been steadily increasing for the past 15 years in both imports and exports. Establishing good trade relationships with countries like China, Brazil or India requires appropriate and strong policies and capacities. Learning from long established and coordinated trade relationships like AGOA is critical for African countries to improve their positioning and benefit more from other non-AGOA schemes. · Finally, although AGOA has been extended until 2025, it remains an Act that is bound to the political and economic changes in the USA and the world. Therefore, it is important for African countries to not rely only on AGOA and diversify their trade relationships. Therefore, examining AGOA at country level is critical to identify tailored solutions and alternatives for trade diversification. Against this background, these studies aim at providing evidence-based insights on the implementation of AGOA at country level and how countries can optimise on the benefits of this preferential trade arrangement. Beyond AGOA, this will inform Africa’s other trade policies which will ultimately improve the continent’s positioning in the world trade. 3. Focus countries Based on geographical/language representation and performance under AGOA, the following 11 countries have been identified for the country case studies: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia. 4. Objectives of the case studies The case studies are primarily aimed at documenting the AGOA experience of the 11 countries and drawing lessons for the rest of African countries. The specific objectives include the following: · Conduct a mapping of the trade policies, strategies, approaches and initiatives undertaken by the country especially under the AGOA; · Quantify and discuss the impact of AGOA on exports/imports and the factors explaining observed export trends under AGOA; · Showcase the challenges, opportunities and capacity gaps in the implementation of AGOA at country level; · Undertake comparative analysis of AGOA and other trade preferences in the country and tease out the similarities, differences and opportunities for synergies; · Identify the lessons learnt including the good practices in the implementation of AGOA; · Formulate clear and evidence-based recommendations for the country (and Africa at large) to benefit more from AGOA and increase its overall trade performance. · Provide a summary of the key capacity-related lessons and recommendations for optimising benefits on AGOA. 5. Methodology and outline of the case study The case study report will be based on a review of existing literature, secondary data and interviews with key informants (for example, representatives from multilateral organisations such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the World Trade Organization, bilateral donors like USAID, trade ministries and other bodies directly involved in trade policy formulation process at country or regional levels). In line with the objectives of the study, the proposed structure of the report will be as follows: Executive summary 1. Introduction 2. Country profile 3. Trade policies, strategies, approaches and initiatives Overall Under AGOA 4. Impact of AGOA On exports/imports Economic impacts Social impacts 5. Challenges, opportunities and lessons learnt Challenges, opportunities and capacity gaps Lessons learnt 6. Conclusions and recommendations Key messages Recommendations and policy actions (including capacity imperatives) 7. References Annexes 6. Scope of work and expected deliverables Scope of work · Review and analyse the literature and available pertinent reports; · Collect primary and secondary data; · Analyse the data and findings; · Draft a report based on the review and analysis of data; · Submit draft report to ACBF for consideration and review; · Revise the report based on the reviewers’ feedback; · Submit a finalized draft to ACBF; and · Potentially participate in a validation/launch workshop.
• Documents:

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