AfCFTA
A historic deal to smash down tariff barriers within Africa is being braked by the coronavirus pandemic and a thicket of negotiating problems.
Even if the pandemic continues into 2021, the African Continental Free Trade Area will move ahead, a top official says.
Kenya’s negotiations with the United States while the African Union is in ongoing negotiations on a future agreement between African countries makes this a transitional moment in Africa’s trading relationship with the West.
US-Kenya trade talks are due to start in the next couple of weeks, US Trade Representative, as Kenya President announced discussions have been delayed until the Africa free-trade deal comes into force.
AGOA doesn’t expire until 2025, but the industry looks for certainty to the region in the face of the pandemic and upcoming US trade talks with Kenya.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could begin operating on January 1 next year, after the COVID-19 pandemic made its original launch date untenable.
The creation of the AfCFTA could enhance the attractiveness of sub-Saharan Africa as an investment destination and manufacturing base.
The Ministry of Trade should ensure that eventual agreements promote Uganda’s aspiration for industrialisation and provide the policy space for government to be able to use a range of trade policy instruments.
Civil society organisations statement.
The AfCFTA is an opportunity for countries and companies to help each other grow, but trade liberalization and Western control can harm the poor and local producers in these countries, and Africa will repeat the mistakes of the European Union.
However member states have yet to make a formal statement and arrive at a consensus pointing to a postponement.
The United States should work to achieve a single, comprehensive agreement with Kenya that removes barriers to trade and investment, instead of pursuing a phased approach, the US Chamber of Commerce said.
The AfCFTA has been put on ice until the coronavirus has been defeated, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA secretariat says.
Some members of the organised private sector and experts in international trade in Nigeria have called for the postponement of the take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement
The acceptance of the e-commerce protocol came about during the 33rd AU Ordinary Session recently held in Ethiopia.
A leading research and public policy think tank is calling on the African Union to defer, the July 1st date for the commencement of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Nigeria’s trade and industrial priorities should be embedded in the ongoing dialogue for AfCFTA implementation strategies.
Economist Tapiwa Mashakada has said the African Continental Free Trade Area is going to suffer a serious setback as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The European Union is investing political capital in the African Continental Free Trade Area. What’s the state of play in getting the world’s largest free trade area off the ground? And why does the project matter so much for Europe?
While meetings to rubber stamp details of the African trade area agreement have been affected, its first trade is still scheduled for July 1.
