ABSTRACT
What happens in the rest of the world affects Africa, directly or indirectly. For centuries Africa has been part of the global economy. Rural people today may seem concerned only with their personal daily needs and those of their immediate communities, yet most of them are just as closely connected to the world economy as those who work in the mining industries and those in the cities who work in the service and manufacturing sectors. Cotton produced by subsistence farmers in West Africa is mainly for export. Over 90 per cent of coffee produced by small farmers in East Africa is for export. Many pharmaceutical products come to Africa from developed countries, as do used clothes, which compete with the domestic textile and apparel industry in Africa. This chapter provides an overview of Africa’s place in the global economy. It presents some key trade features of African countries and examines these countries’ capacity to negotiate in the World Trade Organization (WTO). In addition, it provides a brief discussion of ‘aid for trade’ and agricultural policies in developed countries.1
