CARIFORUM and UK EPA Study

added in exports. The data indicates that the percentage of domestic value added as in fact declined with the integration into GVCs.

Global Value Chains (GVC) are increasingly relevant because of the fragmentation and decentralization of production systems globally, which create opportunities for both off-shoring and near-shoring of productive activities, though it can also lead to double counting in trade data. The theory is that “GVCs are expected to bring gains to the linked countries in terms of improved competitiveness, better access to global markets and the expansion of production and jobs in these countries”. UNCTAD (2013) notes that market access can induce a supply side response, this study posits that to make market access effective and translate into increased exports, more diversified exports, and exports with a higher percentage of value added, other complementary measures will be required, both at the national level and in the context of the relevant treaty. Conditions are not static and thus change over time, and mechanisms are in place to review relevant rules to recalibrate as practicable. Brexit and the disruption it poses for UK-EU value chains, may present a significant opportunity for CARIFORUM Agro-food exporters. This indirect cost of Brexit had been largely ignored, and estimates are that “one fifth of the total manufacturing inputs used by the UK come from the EU, while only 1.5% of the total EU inputs are imported from the UK. The OECD (2020) notes that, “Agro-food GVCs have broadened the gains from specialisation and trade through stronger sector and employment growth. Openness to trade, especially services trade, can positively influence domestic value added creation in agro-food GVCs. This will therefore be a key strategy for CF countries must be done correctly, with environmental and sustainability issues at the core and as well as understanding how services will assist in greater participation in global value chains.

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