Present‐day capitalism, the new international trade regime & Africa

Abstract

This article contributes to the analysis of the effects of globalisation on Africa's economy, on the basis of discussions of emerging trends in the industrial organisation of present‐day capitalism, and in the nature of the international trade regime emerging from the Uruguay Round. On this basis, recent and current developments in the Africa clothing and horticulture sectors are described. The paper argues that certain aspects of the current international trade regime provide scope for Africa to play a heightened role in the global economy in the these two sectors. However, the emergence of the global ‘contract manufacturing’ phenomenon, and the institutionalisation of process‐based food safety standards, implies that the main winners in this scenario will be large‐scale transnational enterprises.