Factors Affecting Trade Patterns of - United States International ...

CHAPTER 1
Introduction and Overview
his report provides information on competitive factors affecting selected
industries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) 1 that have experienced significant
shifts in exports. 2 T
This report describes industry and market conditions;
identifies the leading SSA exporters, their key markets, and their global
competitors; and identifies, describes, and analyzes factors that have contributed
to significant export shifts in the selected SSA industries for the most recent fiveyear
period for which data are available. In addition, the report includes brief
overviews of the trends in SSA exports for the agriculture (including fisheries),
mining and manufacturing, and services sectors.
Industry and Country Coverage
This report analyzes eleven SSA industries selected by the United States Trade
Representative (USTR): certain spices (including ginger), coffee, shea butter and
downstream products thereof, and tropical fruit (e.g. bananas, pineapples, and
guavas) and processed products thereof in the agriculture and fisheries sector;
footwear, natural rubber and downstream products thereof, jewelry and
downstream diamond processing (e.g., polishing and cutting), textiles, and wood
furniture in the mining and manufacturing sector; and aviation services and
communication services in the services sector. For each industry, trade data were
used to narrow the focus of the analysis to that part of the industry and to those
countries within SSA that demonstrated substantial or consistent export value
shifts from 2002–06. 3
1
Throughout the report “SSA” is used to refer to both “sub-Saharan Africa” as a noun and
“sub-Saharan African” as an adjective.
2
On July 27, 2006, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) requested that
the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) prepare three annual reports under section
332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1332(g)) addressing factors affecting trade patterns of
selected industries in sub-Saharan Africa. This report is the second in that series. The USTR
requested that the Commission submit its report by April 3, 2008. A copy of the request letter is
included in app. A, and the Commission’s notice of investigation, published in the Federal Register
of July 18, 2007 (72 F.R. 39445), is in app. B.
3
Sub-Saharan Africa consists of the following 48 countries: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina
Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria,
Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan,
Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Because data were unavailable for
2006 for all commercial services sectors, export shifts for services are based on changes during
2001−05.
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