Resources
AfCFTA Negotiations timeline
tralac has followed developments in the AfCFTA negotiations with keen interest. Below is our collection of legal documents and resources, including the text of the AfCFTA Agreement, its Protocols and its Annexes.
Launch of the negotiations
The establishment of the AfCFTA and the implementation of the BIAT Action Plan provide a comprehensive framework to pursue a developmental regionalism strategy. The former is conceived as a time bound project, whereas BIAT is continuous with concrete targets to double intra-African trade flows from January 2012 and January 2022.
Decision on Boosting Intra-African Trade and Fast Tracking the Continental Free Trade Area
Synthesis Paper on BIAT and Fast Tracking the CFTA
The Continental Task Force (CTF) on the CFTA, which met for the first time in October 2013, is tasked with coordinating actions between the African Union Commission and the Regional Economic Communities to ensure that the CFTA negotiations are conducted within the agreed timelines.
Draft objectives and guiding principles for negotiating the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) - 2nd Meeting of the CFTA Continental Task Force (CTF), April 2013
Decision to convene a Dedicated Session of Senior Officials to develop a Road Map towards the launch of the CFTA negotiations - 26th AU Executive Council, January 2015
Decision on the Report of the High Level African Trade Committee (HATC) on Trade Issues - 24th AU Assembly, January 2015
Decision on the Report of the Extraordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers of Trade (CAMOT) - April 2014
Decision on the Report of the High Level African Trade Committee (HATC) on Trade Issues - 22nd AU Assembly, January 2014
Negotiations for the establishment of the CFTA were officially launched in June 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa. H.E Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger, was mandated by the 28th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in January 2017 to champion the process of the CFTA. A Progress Report on the CFTA negotiations was received by the 29th AU Assembly in July 2017.
Decision on the Launch of Continental Free Trade Area Negotiations - Johannesburg, June 2015
Declaration on the Launch of The Negotiations for the Establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) - Johannesburg, June 2015
Draft Framework, Road Map and Architecture For Fast-tracking the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA)
Decision to establish a High Level Panel of five eminent persons to champion the fast tracking of the CFTA - 27th AU Assembly, July 2016
Launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area
The fifth meeting of African Union Ministers of Trade (AMOT), held in Kigali, Rwanda on 8-9 March 2018, adopted the legal instruments constituting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), namely (a) the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA, (b) the Protocol on Trade in Goods, (c) the Protocol on Trade in Services, and (d) the Protocol on Rules and Procedures for the Settlement of Disputes. Legal scrubbing of the documents was concluded during the Ministerial Meeting of the Second Extra-Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs held on 14 and 15 March.
African leaders subsequently held an Extraordinary Summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) from 17-21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, during which the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA was presented for signature, along with the Kigali Declaration and the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right to Residence and Right to Establishment. In total, 44 out of the 55 AU member states signed the consolidated text of the AfCFTA Agreement, 47 signed the Kigali Declaration and 30 signed the Protocol on Free Movement.
To date, only Eritrea has yet to sign the consolidated text of the AfCFTA Agreement.
Below are the legal instruments signed at the Summit launching the AfCFTA on 21 March 2018. The Agreement is available in four original texts in Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese languages, all texts being equally authentic.
Kigali Declaration for the launch of the AfCFTA
Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA: Consolidated agreed text
Official list of signatures and ratifications as at 19 September 2023
Compiled Annexes to the AfCFTA Agreement
Protocol to the Abuja Treaty relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment, adopted 29 January 2018
Official list of signatures and ratifications as at 8 August 2023
AU Executive Council Decision on the Draft AfCFTA Agreement, 19 March 2018
AU Assembly Decision on the Draft AfCFTA Agreement, 21 March 2018
Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA: Kigali Draft text (consolidated), March 2018
Launch of the operational phase
The operational phase of the AfCFTA was launched during the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly on the AfCFTA in Niamey, Niger on 7 July 2019. In addition to the Niamey Declaration on the Launch of the Operational Phase of the AfCFTA – the key outcome – the following Decisions were adopted by the Assembly: (i) on hosting of the Secretariat of the AfCFTA by Ghana; and (ii) on the successful hosting of the 12th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly and the First Mid-Year Coordination Meeting between the AU and the RECs.
12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly on the AfCFTA: Decisions and Declaration - July 2019
The first meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers responsible for trade took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 24-25 October 2019. The 2nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the AfCFTA was subsequently held on 15 December 2019 in Accra, Ghana. The 33rd Ordinary AU Assembly held from 9-10 February 2020 in Addis Ababa, approved the recommendations of Council of Ministers to have an Extraordinary Summit on 30 May 2020 to approve all instruments required for the start of trading under the AfCFTA on 1 July 2020. This deadline was, however, missed as the world grappled with the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AU Assembly Decision on the AfCFTA - February 2020
H.E. Mr. Wamkele Mene was officially appointed the first Secretary General of the Secretariat on 19 March 2020. It is envisaged that the Secretariat will provide administrative support for the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement. The official handover of the AfCFTA Secretariat took place on 17 October 2020.
During Preparatory Meetings for Commencement of Trading under the AfCFTA held from 16-20 November 2020, AU Head of State and Government urged Member States to prepare national strategies for utilising and benefiting from the AfCFTA. They also discussed the operationalisation of the customs provisions in the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA; the Protocol on Trade in Goods and related annexes as well as the instruments that have been agreed so far.
Start of trading
A virtual meeting of the 13th Extra Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (on the AfCFTA), held on Saturday, 5 December, 2020, under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, underscored the urgent need for member states to kick-start trading activities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which will commence on the 1st of January 2021.
Thirteenth Extraordinary Session (on the AfCFTA): Decision and Declaration
Negotiations on technical issues
The CFTA Negotiating Forum (CFTA-NF) has held several meetings towards the finalisation of the draft modalities for negotiations on both tariff liberalisation and trade in services. Four meetings of the CFTA Technical Working Groups were held in 2017: in February (Kigali), April (Nairobi), August (Durban) and November (Abuja), giving trade experts the opportunity to provide technical inputs in the draft CFTA texts. The 8th Negotiating Forum arrived at three outcomes on the CFTA: Framework Agreement on the CFTA, Protocol on Goods, and Protocol on Trade in Services and a built-in agenda. The three documents were formally approved and adopted by African Trade Ministers in Niamey, Niger in December 2017.
Summary update on the outcomes of the Third Meeting of the CFTA Technical Working Groups - Durban, September 2017
Following the submission of tariff concession schedules for trade in goods by each State Party (including the particular 90 percent of products that are to be liberalised, list of sensitive products requiring an extended time period for liberalisation, and list of excluded products that are to be temporarily exempted from liberalisation), initial market access offers on trade in services, and development of a list of product-specific rules of origin (part of the built-in agenda), the AfCFTA will then enter into force after the deposit of the 22nd instrument of ratification with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
On 11-12 January 2019, the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee of the Ministers of Trade, Industry and Mineral Resources met to discuss The Entry into Force of the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA and its Implementation. Among other things, Ministers:
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reaffirmed their commitment to the completion of all outstanding phases of the AfCFTA negotiations, and the upgrading and diversification of our economies’ productive capacities through increased value addition and transformation of raw materials as well as the development of a competitive services sector, so as to increase Africa’s competitive position in the global economy.
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urged the African Union Commission together with AU Member States to work with technical partners to engage all key stakeholders such as Parliament, civil society and private sector to build a constituency of support for the AfCFTA for enhanced ownership and inclusiveness, to enhance prospects for unhindered implementation of the Agreement.
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urged Member states to build and strengthen the capacity of all strategic institutions involved in industry and trade governance to enhance efficiency in the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.
Final Declaration of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the STC of the Ministers of Trade, Industry and Mineral Resources - January 2019
The AU Assembly adopted the Guidelines for Development of Schedules of Specific Commitments and Regulatory Cooperation Framework for Trade in Services and the new Roadmap for finalisation of AfCFTA Negotiations with a new deadline of June 2020, and requested H.E. Mahamadou to submit a progress report to the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the AfCFTA in Niamey, Niger on 7 July 2019.
Furthermore, the Assembly requested the African Union Ministers of Trade to:
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submit the Schedules of Tariff Concessions and Schedules of Specific Commitments on Trade in Services, in line with agreed modalities, to the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly in July 2019 and the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly in February 2020, respectively, for adoption; and
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conclude the negotiations on the Protocols on Investment, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights, Trade in Services on the other seven (7) sectors beyond the five (5) priority service sectors, and submit the draft legal texts to the January 2021 Session of the Assembly for adoption, through the Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.
During the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Addis Ababa in February 2019, H.E. Mr. Issoufou Mahamadou, President of the Republic of Niger and Leader of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), presented a report on the status and progress made in the AfCFTA negotiations the Road Map for Finalisation of Outstanding Work on Phase 1 and Conclusion of Phase II Negotiations; and Draft Guidelines for Services Negotiations under the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services.
Report on the AfCFTA by Mahamadou Issoufou with Annexes - February 2019
AU Assembly Decision on the African Union Continental Free Trade Area - February 2019
At the 10th Meeting of AfCFTA African Ministers of Trade (AMOT) in December 2019, the AUC was directed to organise a series of technical meetings of AfCFTA negotiating institutions from 10 February to 10 May 2020, and to come up with a detailed, sequenced and realistic work-plan.
Final report of the 10th Meeting of AfCFTA AMOT - December 2019
The 8th Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers Responsible for Trade was convened in Accra, Ghana on 28-29 January 2022. Ministers assessed the status of negotiations on outstanding issues and steps required to move towards the start of commercially meaningful trading under the AfCFTA.
8th Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers: Press Release - 29 January 2022
A Report of the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) was prepared for the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council which took place on 2-3 February 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This was followed by the 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union which was held on 5-6 February 2022. The Assembly adopted a comprehensive set of Decisions on the AfCFTA, noting the following with regards to the status of negotiations:
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43 tariff offers on trade in goods had been submitted by individual State Parties and collectively as part of Customs Unions - CEMAC, EAC, ECOWAS and SACU, 29 of which had been technically verified.
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Agreement on Rules of Origin covering 87.7% of agreed tariff lines.
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On trade in services, offers on schedules of Specific Commitments had been submitted by 46 State and non-State Parties.
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A set of Decisions covering the Dispute Settlement Mechanism, Phase II negotiations, the AfCFTA Implementation tools, and Collaboration with Strategic Partners, among others, were also adopted.
pdf Report of the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) (545 KB) - January 2022
AU Assembly Decisions on the AfCFTA - February 2022
At the Council of Ministers of the AfCFTA Meeting in July 2022 in Accra, Ghana, Ministers adopted the following:
At the 42nd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, held from 15-16 February 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Executive Council called on the remaining non-State Parties, namely Benin; Botswana; Libya; Liberia; Madagascar; Somalia; Sudan; and South Sudan, to ratify the Agreement as soon as possible and qualify as State Parties, in order to increase the size of the market and the volume of trade under the AfCFTA. It also recommended to the Assembly of Heads of State & Government the adoption of the two legally scrubbed protocols on Investment and Competition.
AU Executive Council Decision on the Report of the Implementation of the AfCFTA Secretariat - February 2023
At the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, held from 18-19 February 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Assembly adopted the Phase II Protocols on Competition Policy, Investment, and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) which were presented to the Seventh Extraordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (Experts Meeting) in Accra, Ghana, in January 2023.
AU Assembly Decision on Draft Legal Instruments - February 2023
pdf AfCFTA Protocol on Investment (1.08 MB)
pdf AfCFTA Protocol on Competition Policy (415 KB)
pdf AfCFTA Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights (978 KB)
AU Assembly Decision on the report of HE Issoufou Mahamadou on the AfCFTA - February 2023
The 11th Meeting of the Council of Ministers concluded the Ministerial regulations on the treatment of products from Special economic arrangements or zones which has been adopted by the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union held in February 2023.
Latest updates
The outcomes of various meetings enabled the conclusion of some tariff lines on textiles sector and on automotive sector and the completion of 92,3% agreed Rules of origin. In order to facilitate the implementation of the AfCFTA Rules of Origin, the Rules of Origin Policy Division of the AfCFTA Secretariat aims to initiate the process of the adoption of the consolidated Annex 2, taking in consideration the additional provisions and definitions, new provisions handled by the Rules of Origin Manual and the Ministerial regulations on SEZ.
pdf The Treatment of Goods Originating in Special Economic Arrangements / Zones in the AfCFTA: Technical paper (551 KB) - December 2018
As part of the negotiations for the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), AU Member States are considering how to treat goods produced from Special Economic Arrangements / Zones (SEZs) under the Rules of Origin. The concern of some African countries is how to address unfair competition that may emanate from goods produced in SEZs and trade under AfCFTA preferential treatment. The rationale is that, as goods produced in SEZs benefit from tax and other investment incentives, the cost of manufacture will be lowered so goods produced in SEZs will be able to be sold for less than goods not manufactured in SEZs.
The Technical Paper concludes that:
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The original Article 9 of the Annex 2 on Rules of Origin is maintained in its original form to grant AfCFTA preferential treatment to products originating in SEZs complying with AfCFTA rules of origin.
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Issues related to unfair trade competition arising from subsidies granted to SEZs should be addressed using the WTO ASCM and the available provisions in AfCFTA Annex 9 on Trade Remedies.
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Further clarification, benefits of SEZs to national economies and lessons learned from other FTAs on this topic, may be object of detailed studies if considered useful by AUC and Member States.
Launch of the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI)
The Ministerial Directive of the 7th Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers responsible for Trade, on 10 October 2021, provided a legal basis for the countries that had submitted their tariff schedules, in accordance with the agreed modalities, to trade preferentially amongst themselves. While preferential trade under the AfCFTA can only truly begin once negotiations on issues such as tariff concessions and rules of origins are finalised, a ‘pilot phase’ of the AfCFTA was launched in October 2022 in the form of the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI). The primary aim of the GTI is to test the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA.
The AfCFTA GTI will serve as a gateway to encourage continued trade under the AfCFTA and create increased opportunities for SMEs and Youth and Women in trade, in turn promoting sustainable and inclusive economic development. The objectives are to:
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test the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA;
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allow commercially meaningful trading under the AfCFTA; and
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send a positive message to African economic operators about the AfCFTA.
The ultimate objective of the initiative is to ensure that the AfCFTA can be fully operational and implemented by State Parties in order to achieve increased interregional and intra-Africa trade.
Furthermore, the GTI aims to achieve four objectives: Demonstrate the efficiency of the legal framework of the AfCFTA instruments; Obtain feedback on the effectiveness of the legal and institutional national systems in the participating countries; Test the readiness of the private sector to participate in trade under the AfCFTA; and Identify possible future interventions to increase intra-African trade and maximise the benefits of the AfCFTA.
Eight (8) State Parties are currently participating in the initiative: Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Tunisia. Others, who have had their Provisional Schedules of Tariff Concessions verified, may join at a later stage. The interested State Parties represent 5 African regions.
The 96 products earmarked to trade under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative include: ceramic tiles, tea, coffee, processed meat products, corn starch, sugar, pasta, glucose syrup, dried fruits, and sisal fibre, amongst others, in line with the AfCFTA focus on value chain development. A Committee has been established to coordinate and operationalise trade transactions, and Ad Hoc Committees have been established in the participating State Parties. It is expected that a GTI for Trade in Services will be launched too.
AfCFTA Application of Provisional Schedules of Tariff Concessions: Ministerial Directive 1/2021