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Africa

Does new EU-ACP deal really ’decolonise’ aid?
9-Apr-2021 EU Observer
Based on what we have seen in nearly final drafts of the text, the EU seems poised to again fail to promote a real shift in power relations due to imbalances that remain written into the new deal.
India, Mauritius FTA to come into effect from Apr 1
1-Apr-2021 Business Standard
Several Indian products will enjoy the benefit of greater market access at concessional duties in Mauritius as the FTA signed between the two countries will come into effect from April 1
‘African Continental FTA signals opportunity for Indian businesses’
3-Mar-2021 The Hindu
African countries want India to help in mechanising agriculture, build social and physical infrastructure and provide more vaccines
India, Mauritius sign economic partnership deal
23-Feb-2021 The Telegraph (India)
The trade deal would provide a gateway to the markets of the African continent as Mauritius has several pacts with them
Here’s why China’s trade deal with Mauritius matters
18-Feb-2021 How we made it in Africa
Mauritius already plays an important role as an investment entrepôt for the subcontinent. This likely makes Sino-Mauritian ties even more important for the rest of the continent to watch.
Cabinet approves trade pact between India and Mauritius
17-Feb-2021 The Hindu
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved signing of a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement, a kind of a free trade pact, between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalising norms to boost two-way commerce.
AfCFTA states terms for members in other pacts
16-Feb-2021 The East African
African countries negotiating free trade agreements with parties from other parts of the world will be required to grant the same preferences or better terms to African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) member states.
Will China help or hurt the AfCFTA?
7-Feb-2021 The Africa Report
African countries want to trade more with their partners on the continent – through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement that launched operations on 1 January – but will that hurt big trading partners like China?
Beijing expands Indian Ocean FTAs westward with Mauritius
2-Feb-2021 Nikkei Asia
China’s free trade agreement with the small island-nation of Mauritius came into effect in January, increasing the Asian powerhouse’s presence in the Indian Ocean where its regional rival India has long dominated.
AfCFTA and the economic emergence of Africa
1-Feb-2021 Enquête+
Economists deconstruct the myth surrounding the trade agreement
UK-Africa trade: What will Brexit change?
22-Jan-2021 DW
UK has already inked post-Brexit trade deals with 13 African countries. These new agreements, which offer duty-free and quota-free access to British markets, aren’t much different to the old ones, as they are mainly transferring the conditions in the EU deals into bilateral agreements between the UK and the African nation, or blocs.
African Continental Free Trade Agreement: Red tape delays start of trading under new pact
15-Jan-2021 Daily Maverick
All SACU members need to ratify the AfCFTA before any of its members can start trading under it. ECOWAS States were facing the same problem.
Nigeria: Dangote leveraging expansion under AfCFTA
14-Jan-2021 All Africa
Dangote Industries Limited has stated that its cement expansion plan and fertiliser investments will open new trade routes for the company and Nigeria under the trade deal.
African free trade tariff rules should be completed by July-official
12-Jan-2021 Reuters
Members of Africa’s new free trade area should complete their tariff reduction schedules and finalise essential rules of origin by July.
Partnership with a purpose: EU-Africa relations in 2021
8-Jan-2021 Euractiv
The African Union sees the ‘partnership’ process, likely to culminate in a summit in Portugal in May or June, as an opportunity to overhaul the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) .
China-Mauritius FTA goes into effect. But who benefits?
5-Jan-2021 TRT
China’s first FTA with an African country provides a stepping stone into the continent through the geopolitical hotspot Indo-Pacific region.
African free trade bloc opens for business, but challenges remain
4-Jan-2021 Reuters
African countries began officially trading under a new continent-wide free trade area, after months of delays caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.
China-Mauritius free-trade deal creates model for Beijing’s trade with Africa, observers say
4-Jan-2021 South China Morning Post
Deal will ‘vitalise cooperation between our two countries and strengthen China-Africa economic ties’, head of African affairs at Chinese foreign ministry says.
Taiwanese eye Africa as investment destination amid marginalization
14-Dec-2020 Focus Taiwan
Taiwan’s Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association encouraged Taiwanese companies to take advantage of free trade deals in Africa.
In spite of its many sponsors, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) goes into the wall
12-Dec-2020 SOL
The sharp decline in manufactured goods trade and the growing food deficit over the past 25 years call for the African Union to be more modest in its ambitions to become “the next world manufacturing center”, far from the free trade illusion of the AfCFTA.