Essays on ACP-EU Trade Relations with Application on Trade in Value added and the Post-Brexit Scenario

This thesis consists of three essays. They are all related and investigate trade (at aggregate and value-added level) relations between African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP), and the European Union (EU) with a focus on the post-Brexit scenario. The first goal of the analysis is to understand how all preference arrangements (Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), Free Trade Agreement (FTAs), and Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSPs)) have affected the ACP-EU trade (at aggregate level) relationships. This ex-post assessment will be used to make predictions about the post-Brexit scenario. Then the thesis investigates in depth the notion of trade in value-added, this thesis analyzes the trade in value-added (TiVA) providing an overview of the participation of these regions in international network production. Finally, this thesis investigates further how non-tariff measures (NTMs) affect ACP’s agriculture and food sectors’ participation in backward and forward Global Value Chains (GVC).