On 5 March 2025, Dr Binyam Afewerk Demena participated in a roundtable discussion with the standing committee on Foreign Trade and Development of the Dutch House of Representatives of the Netherlands.
He was asked to give his views on the power, interests and trade-offs that play a role in the process of negotiating EU trade agreements with African countries, the MENA region in particular.
In his presentation and the questions that followed, Demena was largely informed by various outputs from his research and capacity-building Tanzania Capacity Building programme and a position paper that he co-authored with ISS PhD graduate Libby Lahar - The Geopolitics of EU Trade: EU-Africa and EU-MENA.
Demena, Assistante Professor of Development Economics at the International Institute of Social Studies, explained to the committee that the Africa and MENA regions are key strategic trade partners for the European Union (EU), with market access playing a pivotal role in driving economic development. Enhanced access to international markets facilitates economic growth through multiple channels.
Some perspectives highlight the redistribution of tariff revenues that would otherwise remain with importing nations, while others focus on the employment opportunities generated by expanding export capacities. Additionally, increased market access fosters institutional development and regulatory alignment. At the firm level, exposure to foreign markets enhances productivity through learning-by-exporting effects and contributes to higher wages for employees in exporting companies.
He advised that, given these advantages, strengthening market access remains a crucial priority in trade policy.
Demena's research and outputs on trade relations
- Assistant professor
- Related links
- MOOC - Trade & investment: Evidence-based policies for development