{"id":5285,"date":"2019-08-19T10:13:46","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T10:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2019-10-26T18:19:18","modified_gmt":"2019-10-26T18:19:18","slug":"afdb-says-risks-to-growth-increasing-by-the-day%e2%80%8b-but-afcfta-could-speed-up-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2019\/08\/19\/afdb-says-risks-to-growth-increasing-by-the-day%e2%80%8b-but-afcfta-could-speed-up-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"AfDB says risks to growth ‘increasing by the day’\u200b but AfCFTA could speed up growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The U.S.-China trade war and uncertainty over Brexit pose risks to Africa\u2019s economic prospects that are \u201cincreasing by the day,\u201d the head of the African Development Bank (AfDB) told Reuters.<\/p>\n

The trade dispute between the world\u2019s two largest economies has roiled global markets and unnerved investors as it stretches into its second year with no end in sight.<\/p>\n

Britain, meanwhile, appears to be on course to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 without a transition deal, which economists fear could severely disrupt trade flows.<\/p>\n

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB, said the bank could review its economic growth projection for Africa – of 4% in 2019 and 4.1% in 2020 – if global external shocks accelerate.<\/p>\n

\"No<\/div>\n

\u201cWe normally revise this depending on global external shocks that could slowdown global growth and these issues are increasing by the day,\u201d Adesina told Reuters late on Saturday on the sidelines of the Southern African Development Community meeting in Tanzania\u2019s commercial capital Dar es Salaam.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have Brexit, you also have the recent challenges between Pakistan and India that have flared off there, plus you have the trade war between the United States and China. All these things can combine to slow global growth, with implications for African countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bank chief said African nations need to boost trade with each other and add value to agricultural produce to cushion the impact of external shocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the trade war has significantly impacted economic growth prospects in China and therefore import demand from China has fallen significantly and so demand for products and raw materials from Africa will only fall even further,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will also have another effect with regard to China\u2019s own outward-bound investments on the continent,\u201d he added, saying these could also affect official development assistance.<\/p>\n

Adesina said a continental free-trade zone launched last month, the African Continental Free Trade Area, could help speed up economic growth and development, but African nations needed to remove non-tariff barriers to boost trade.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cThe countries that have always been facing lower volatilities have always been the ones that do a lot more in terms of regional trade and do not rely on exports of raw materials,\u201d Adesina said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenges cannot be solved unless all the barriers come down. Free mobility of labour, free mobility of capital and free mobility of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

AfCFTA aims to boost the proportion of intra-African trade; <\/strong><\/p>\n