Shifting from aid to trade in EU-Africa relations may not reduce poverty, argue researchers

In a commentary published in Le Monde Diplomatique, Clara Weinhardt and Fabian Bohnenberger argue that the shift of EU-Africa relations from aid to trade, announced at the April 2014 EU-Africa Summit, will obstruct their long-stated goal of poverty reduction through trade-based partnerships. They say that the arguments for the shift are missing a causal link between economic growth and poverty reduction and that the EU and African states have mistakenly equated job creation and economic growth with poverty reduction. Treating parties equally at the negotiating table although they are not on equal economic terms is likely to result in inequitable outcomes.