Development by Free Trade?

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One year after the start of negotiations between Tunisia and the European Union for a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA), this book aims to enhance public debate in North African countries. It informs civil society actors about the potential risks associated with this new generation of EU free trade agreements. By examining the effects of structural adjustment programs from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria since the late 1980s, followed by the EU's free trade policies, the authors question the promised positive outcomes for development and prosperity. They argue that it is the EU that benefits from the asymmetric power dynamics, using them to advance its economic and security interests, particularly concerning "illegal migration." This work, published a year after the DCFTA negotiations began, seeks to alert civil society about the implications of EU trade policies and challenges the narrative of free trade as a pathway to development. The contributions from North African and European experts critically assess the EU's economic policy towards North African countries and highlight the risks these agreements pose to the region's future.