TFTA
Since 2008, there was talk about merging the member states of COMESA, the East African Community (EAC, with five members) and the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC, with 14 members). In 2011, leaders of the 26 African countries within these three existing regional economic communities announced plans to negotiate a tripartite free trade area between them which would, cover over 600 million people and an estimated US$1 trillion in trade. In June 2011 in Johannesburg governments adopted the negotiating principles, modalities for negotiations and a roadmap for negotiating such an agreement at the 2nd Comesa-EAC-Sadc Summit. The first negotiating round was held in Nairobi in December 2011 and in June 2015 the "Tripartite Free Trade Area" or #TFTA was finally signed. It now needs to be ratified by the assemblies of parliaments of each member state to come into effect.
The texts of the FTA are here: http://www.tralac.org/resources/by-region/comesa-eac-sadc-tripartite-fta.html.
This agreement is to form the precursor of a continental Africa-wide FTA or CFTA.
last update: June 2015
Articles
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28-Jun-2018 Daily Monitor Slow progress on Tripartite Free Trade Area hurting trade
The slow pace at which member states of the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement (TFTA) are committing to the bloc, has derailed the enforcement of the treaty and trade in one of Africa’s largest economic zones. -
11-May-2018 Journal du Cameroun S/African gov’t approves African tripartite FTA pact, industrial action plan
The TFTA seeks to establish an enlarged market involving 27 member countries from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and Southern African Development Community. -
1-Feb-2018 Xinhua Botswana signs tripartite free trade area agreement
Botswana signed a tripartite free trade area agreement which marked a milestone in the trade agenda of the African Union. -
9-Oct-2017 Defi Media Commerce : Maurice se joint à une zone de libre-échange tripartite régionale
Maurice se joint à trois blocs régionaux : le Marché commun de l’Afrique orientale et australe, la Communauté d’Afrique de l’Est et la Communauté de développement d’Afrique australe en vue d’une union douanière unique. -
11-Aug-2017 All Africa East Africa: Cabinet approves the ratification of the Tripartite Free Trade Area
The Ugandan Cabinet has approved the ratification of the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite Free Area Agreement (FTA), paving way for the implementation of the Agreement. -
7-Aug-2017 Xinhua Official: African states to meet deadline to establish trading bloc
The Tripartite Free Trade Area will comprise 28 countries, cover approximately 18.3 million square kilometers and hold about 61 percent of the continent’s population. -
21-Jul-2017 tralac Madagascar signs tripartite free trade agreement
The agreement brings together three regional economic communities – COMESA, EAC and SADC – into a single free trade area covering 57% of Africa’s population with a combined GDP of US$1.3 trillion as of 2015 -
17-Jul-2017 Newsmada Zone de libre échange : Madagascar adhère à l’accord tripartite
Le gouvernement malgache a procédé à la signature de l’accord sur la Zone de libre échange tripartite (ZLE). A ce jour, 19 pays ont déjà signé l’accord. -
12-Jul-2017 China.org.cn COMESA : la création d’une zone de libre-échange tripartite en bonne voie
Le marché commun de l’Afrique orientale et australe (COMESA) a déclaré que la création d’une zone de libre-échange tripartite avait pris un nouvel élan avec la signature de l’accord sur son établissement par de nouveaux pays. -
10-Jul-2017 All Africa East Africa: Trade bodies move closer to free trade area - Officials
Nineteen countries have now signed the agreement. For benefits to actually be realized, it must be ratified by at least 14 of the 26 member countries. Only Egypt has ratified it. -
7-Jul-2017 The New Times Regional ministers meet in Kampala over free trade area
Ministers from 26 African countries are meeting in Kampala in another attempt to see through overdue negotiations on the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). -
4-Jul-2017 The Southern Times Few African countries ratify tripartite FTA
A paltry eight African have so far ratified the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) more than two years after it was launched in Egypt, raising fears of a failed continental effort to create an expanded trade barrier free market. -
17-May-2017 GTR Africa’s free trade agreement: A step too far?
Plans to establish a single market for the 26 African countries in the Eastern and Southern African region – known as the tripartite free trade area (TFTA) – could be overly ambitious. -
26-Oct-2016 Nigeria Today SADC, EAC and COMESA seek to implement Tripartite Free Trade Area
The 10th EAC-COMESA-SADC Tripartite meeting opened in Nairobi to resolve issues that remain outstanding before the implementation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area. -
10-Feb-2016 Comesa Business Council Regional dialogue set to ensure the inclusiveness of the private sector in Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement negotiations
The inaugural Tripartite Regional Dialogue will ensure inclusive participation of the private sector in the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) negotiations. -
28-Jan-2016 Business Day Participation in Africa trade deal tenuous
26 African countries signed the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) agreement. However, only three of Africa’s eight regional economic communities are participating in the TFTA. -
2-Jan-2016 COMESA appreciates Tripartite FTA progress
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Council of Ministers has appreciated the progress made so far in the negotiating process that include finalising the outstanding work in Phase 1 of the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement (TFTA). -
13-Oct-2015 All Africa East African states agree on free trade area issues
The East African Community partner states have agreed on the outstanding trade issues under the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). -
22-Sep-2015 Lexology TFTA: Pan-African free trade area announced
TFTA states that its aims include harmonisation and improvement of regional trading arrangements, enhancement of trade facilitation. -
20-Sep-2015 Mining Weekly Mooted free-trade area seen boosting intra-African minerals trade flows
Formal negotiations are taking place among the 54 member States of the African Union to create a free-trade zone on the continent by 2017.
