AFCFTA
The Africa continental free trade area (afcfta) is the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 member states of Africa union (AU) and (8) regional economic communities (REC) to create a single market for the continent.
The aim is to enable the free flow of goods and services across the continent and boost the trading position of Africa in the global market.
Purposes of AFCFCTA
1.3+ Billion people in the continent of Africa
USD 3.4 + Trillion GDP
55 member states of Africa
1 market
AFCFTA
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE AFRICAN ECONOMY.
It is to estimate the AFCFTA has the potential both to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by eliminating import duties and to double this trade if non-tariff also reduced. With the average tariffs of 6.12 percent business currently face higher tariffs when they export with in Africa than on the continent. The AFCFTA will progressively eliminate tariffs on intra-Africa trade. Making it easier for Africa in businesses to trade within the continent and benefit from the growing African market.
The AFCFTA is expected to expand the size of Africa’s, economy to US 29 trillion 2050.
TRADE IN GOODS
One of the specific objective of the AFCFTA Agreement is the progressive liberalization of services, the Afcfta protocol in trade in services envision liberalized Africa services market which shall be achieved by gradually eliminating restriction that incompatible with the afcfta agreement, the ACFFTA protocol on trade in service, the negotiating guidelines for services negotiating under the Afcfta protocol on trade in services negotiations.
The progressive liberalization will be accomplished in two ways:
- First, by the state parties offering their commitment in service sector through schedule of the specific commitments.
- Second, by developing cross cutting sectorial regulatory framework.
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MECHANISM
The Dispute settlement mechanism established under the protocol on Rules and procedures of the AFCFTA Agreement. It focuses on amicable, transparent and swift resolutions of disputes between states parties. The key institutions of the Disputes settlement mechanism are the dispute settlement body, the adjudicating panels and to appellate body for second-tier review.
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT BODY (DSB)
ADJUDICATING PANELS
APPELLATE BODY
CUSTOMS AND TRADE FACILITATION
Objectives of the AFCFTA
1. Create a single market for goods and services, facilitated by movement of person in order to deepen the economic integration of Africa continent an in accordance with Pan-African vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa “enriched in Agenda 2063.
2. Create liberalized market for goods and services through successive rounds of negotiations.
3. Contribute the movement of capital and natural persons and facilitate investments building on the initiatives and development in the state parties and REC’s..
4. Lay the foundation for the establishment of continental customs union at large scale.
5. Promote and attain sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development gender equality and structural transformation of the state parties.
6. Enhance the competitiveness of the economies of state parties with in the continent and the global market.
7. Promote industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development, Agricultural development and food security.
8. Resolve the challenges of the multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration process.
AFCFTA
The implementation of Afcfta is supported through the establishment and operationalization for four oversight Institutions.
• The council of ministers
• The AFCFTA secretariat
• The committee on trade in goods.
• The committee on trade in service.
At country level, several examples support the progress registered at continental level. The king dom of eswatini for example, In pursuit of Africa’s political and economic integration is an active member of the African continental free trade area (AFCFTA).currently there are no Non tariff barriers (NTB) reported against the country.
However, At the EAC and COMESA levels, 15 NTBs and 9 NTBs respectively were reported by June 2021.
Between 2007 and 2021 cumulatively, 226 NTBs were resolved at EAC level, while I NTBs was resolved in 2021 at the COMESA Level.