Standards and Global Trade: A Voice for Africa

In expanding trade, the link between standards, access to foreign markets, and development is at the forefront of policy debate. This is particularly true for African countries, which face critical challenges in improving domestic capacity to meet production and quality standards required in foreign markets. In case studies of five African countries—Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda—Standards and Global Trade demonstrates the importance of addressing the impact of product standards both as barriers to trade and as opportunities to expand market access.

This book provides a comprehensive and in-depth case-by-case assessment of the current and anticipated use of international standards and capacity for compliance. Each chapter details the economic context in which standards apply to each country and examines the mechanisms with which the country and its representatives have participated in the process of setting/revising standards and technical regulations at the local and international level. The analysis includes a review of existing laws and regulations and the extent to which they are consistent with current international norms.

Standards and Global Trade examines each country's physical infrastructure and organizational capacities to design and implement standards and technical regulations. The authors also discuss and analyze the implementation processes and some estimated impact of various standards, technical regulations, and related production/marketing practices in about five specific industry segments in each country.