Amid global economic shifts, the Maghreb’s free trade areas aim for innovation and integration, yet struggle amid fragmentation, competition and structural challenges.
As part of the ongoing global geoeconomic transformation into a multipolar order, countries and regions worldwide are looking to boost their economic prospects and security outlooks. On Europe’s doorstep, the highly competitive Mediterranean and North African region is a prime contender for growth driven by foreign investment.
Countries in the Maghreb, in particular, are creating free trade zones (FTZs) to lure multinational corporations seeking favorable taxation arrangements and regulatory frameworks with assurances of transparency and security in locations adjacent to centers of global demand.
However, low labor costs, geographical proximity to the European Union and malleable trade unions, while appealing, are not yet sufficient to transform North Africa into an attractive economic area.
In a region where inter-state collaboration is weak, each country typically attracts as much foreign investment as possible and asserts regional superiority while trying to rid itself of the Maghreb’s old demons: corruption, money laundering and political insecurity.
Promoted as islands of economic security, free trade zones are as heterogeneous as their host countries.
Gisreportersonline
