GFEI webinar on Intra-African Trade Regionalism

Is Intra-African Trade Regionalism a Driver for Sustainable Development?

A mapping exercise to see if trade within African countries can make environmental policies work better.

Date: 16 July 2025
Time: 12:00-12:40 (BST)
Place: Online (register on Eventbrite)

Speaker: Dr Maria Anna Corvaglia

African countries face serious problems caused by climate change and environmental damage. However, increased trade between African countries could help address some of these issues.

Dr Maria Anna Corvaglia will discuss their project, which looks into how trade within Africa countries—called intra-African trade—can serve as a new way to make environmental policies work better.

It takes a closer look at trade agreements signed between African countries, known as Regional Economic Communities (RECs). These agreements not only help promote trade among African nations but also support sustainable growth in key parts of their economies. While most studies focus on how global actors like the US, European Union, and China influence Africa’s trade and environmental rules from outside the continent - called extra-African trade - this research shifts the focus to how African countries themselves are developing their own regional trade agreements to manage their environmental priorities.

Using a comparative legal analysis, the study examines the regulatory design of environmental commitments in Intra-Africa regional trade agreements and RECs. It explores how they balance environmental needs with trade obligations, how enforceable these rules are, and which environmental areas they aim to protect. It challenges the prevailing assumption that environmental protection is primarily a regulatory objective imposed by Western countries in extra-African trade agreements. Instead, the research highlights the specific characteristics of the environmental provisions in African regionalism. It reveals distinct environmental priorities – such as waste management and sustainable agriculture - and a marked preference for the adoption of soft law and flexible trade instruments.

The webinar lasts for 40 mins and includes a Q&A session between attendees and the speaker. The webinar will be chaired by Professor Stephen Whitfield.

The webinar is free but registration is required.