Madagascar’s GDP was estimated at $12.6 billion in 2019, up 4.8 percent in real terms, and the population was 27 million. (IFF)

Madagascar is US’s 101st largest goods trading partner, worth $913 million in 2019. Exports were $67 million and imports were $846 million. In 2019, the US trade deficit with Madagascar was $779 million.

EU and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA)

At the end of 2007, the EU signed an interim Economic Partnership Agreement with six ESA countries – Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Four of the countries signed the pact in August 2009. (Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe). They’ve been using it on a trial basis since May 14, 2012. In July 2017, Comoros signed the pact. It ratified it in February 2019 and began implementing it.

The European Parliament gave its approval to the agreement in January 2013. Other countries that want to join later can still do so.

The EU’s interim Economic Partnership Agreement with Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe includes the following provisions:

• Eliminating EU tariffs and quotas on these countries’ imports
• Increasing liberalization of EU exports to these nations
• Origin rules, fisheries, and trade protection
• Development Cooperation Rules
• Dispute-resolution procedures

The interim EPA contains a rendezvous clause for negotiating further trade-related issues such as regulations and obligations on services and investment, sustainable development, and competition (the ‘deepening’ process). The five countries that have implemented the agreement have stated their willingness to expand beyond commodities trade to a more complete deal. On October 2, 2019, negotiations to deepen the EPA began. The interim EPA also includes cooperation on technical trade barriers and animal and plant health standards.

In January 2020, the EPA Committee resolved to change the idea of originating products in the Protocol on Rules of Origin to simplify and facilitate trade between the ESA region and the EU. The modification, which went into effect in March 2020, allows economic operators to have greater flexibility while saving money, among other things.

COMESA

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is an African regional economic community that spans from Tunisia to Eswatini and has twenty-one member states. COMESA was established in December 1994 to replace a 1981-established Preferential Trade Area. Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe founded a free trade area in 2000, with Rwanda and Burundi joining in 2004, the Comoros and Libya in 2006, Seychelles in 2009, and Tunisia and Somalia in 2018.

COMESA is one of the African Economic Community’s cornerstones.

COMESA agreed in 2008 to expand its free-trade zone to include members of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) (SADC). To increase tourism, COMESA is contemplating a unified visa policy.

Indian Ocean Commission (COI)

The Indian Ocean Commission is an international organization that connects the African countries of Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (a French overseas territory), and Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. China, the European Union, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Sovereign Order of Malta, India, Japan, and the United Nations are among the observers.

The Indian Ocean Commission supports peace and stability, maritime security, food security, environmental conservation, fisheries, climate change adaptation, the concerns of island developing states, public health, and cultural expression as an intergovernmental organization of collaboration.

Its actions are thus consistent with international frameworks signed by its member states, such as the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development to 2030 and the Global Climate Agreement, among others.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is conducting 14 cooperation projects in 2020. It will oversee a total project budget of over 130 million euros between 2020 and 2025.

Convention on Trade and Development of the United Nations (UNCTAD)

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was founded in 1964 as an intergovernmental body with the mission of promoting the interests of developing countries in international trade.

The Convention on Trade and Development of the United Nations (UNCTAD) is a branch of the United Nations Secretariat that deals with trade, investment, and development concerns. “Maximize developing nations’ trade, investment, and development prospects and assist them in their efforts to achieve equitable integration into the global economy,” the organization’s goals state. UNCTAD was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964 and reports to both the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

UNCTAD’s main goal is to design policies in all areas of development, including trade, aid, transportation, finance, and technology. The conference meets every four years, and the permanent secretariat is based in Geneva.