Introduction: Africa and the World of Regionalism: Old and New

Regional integration is not new. It has been a continuing part of the post-World War II trade landscape. Recently, however, interest in regionalism has revived in both developed and developing countries. Existing arrangements have been, or are being, extended in their coverage; old arrangements are being revived; and new regional groupings are being formed. The three distinctive features of this trend are: the ‘conversion’ of the United States to the regional approach; the emergence of regional arrangements among industrial and developing countries; and an apparent move away from inward-oriented towards more outward-oriented arrangements among developing countries, particularly in the Western Hemisphere. In developing countries, these developments are being accompanied in many cases by unilateral trade liberalization.