Blog
Africa’s Gold Rush shifts West
30 Mar 2022 ~ David Christianson
It is widely known that South Africa’s gold mining industry has been in decline for many years. But what may be less well-known outside specialist circles is the extent to which West Afr...read more
Time to bring coherence to South Africa’s energy future
28 Mar 2022 ~ David Christianson
By the end of March, the route plan for South Africa’s return to energy security was looking more murky than ever with possible plans for gas, renewables and nuclear jostling for positio...read more
Net zero is a problem for African development
28 Mar 2022 ~ David Christianson
The possibility of a global ban on fossil fuels has ominous developmental implications for much of Africa. Nearly 50 percent of the continent’s exports are made up of hydrocarbon product...read more
Climate Change Impacts, Adaption and Vulnerability in Africa: Key Findings in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report
17 Mar 2022 ~ Gita Briel
Read the full blog HERE
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released the Working Group II’s contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) titled Climate Change 2022...read more
South African lemon juice exports face American anti-dumping duties
07 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
On December 30, 2021, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) received a request from Ventura Coastal LLC, an American firm, to undertake an investigation under ...read more
Does the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services allow for Flexibilities?
07 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
This question is being asked in the context of national preparations for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) trade in services negotiations. In principle, all African Union Me...read more
What needs to be done to begin commercially meaningful trade under the AfCFTA?
07 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus, Trudi Hartzenberg
A press statement by the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) released on 29th January 2022 contains an announcement on the start of trade in goods under the AfC...read more
How relevant is the Protocol on Relations between the RECs and the AU?
06 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus, Trudi Hartzenberg
Since the 1980s, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have been identified as a key element in African regional integration.[1] This approach continues in the context of the African Co...read more
Coping with Covid after the AfCFTA has been launched
06 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The COVID-19 Pandemic was a massive shock to the world, how it trades, and how it is governed. It arrived in a world of sovereign states, albeit that some of them (such as the European Uni...read more
The meaning of building blocks for African integration is defined by the applicable legal instruments and subsequent practice
06 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus, Trudi Hartzenberg
The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have a long history within the narrative of African political cooperation and economic integration. They are now also referred to as the building b...read more
Should the Russian invasion of Ukraine be a concern for Africa?
02 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is an unprovoked act of aggression and producing a humanitarian catastrophe. It has caused the biggest international crisis since the end of the Cold War. U...read more
Does the AfCFTA have a new formula for regional integration?
02 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been launched to boost intra-African trade and industrialisation. For this to happen there needs to be better trade governance and...read more
Does the AfCFTA provide for mechanisms to advance socio-economic rights?
02 Mar 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
In its present format the AfCFTA does not provide an adequate anchor for the socio-economic goals that belong in a comprehensive continental trade arrangement which includes a promise to ...read more
Mozambique gas bounces back
28 Feb 2022 ~ David Christianson
When TotalEnergies declared force majeure on its Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) project in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province in April last year, in the face of a violent local i...read more
How Transaction-Level Customs Data Could Benefit the Cause of the AfCFTA
27 Feb 2022 ~ John Stuart
Read the full blog HERE
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) holds much promise for the economic future of the African continent. This continent-wide free trade area aims not ...read more
Digital Development in Africa – What is Working and What Isn’t
27 Feb 2022 ~ John Stuart
Download the full blog HERE
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policies are a key driver of ‘digital development’ – the extent of integration of a country or region into...read more
Update on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and related developments
23 Feb 2022 ~ Eckart Naumann
AGOA remains the cornerstone of Africa-U.S. preferential market access, and the legislation accounts for virtually all of Sub-Saharan Africa’s non-MFN exports to the U.S. Through AGOA, b...read more
South African policy needs to catch up with electric vehicles
23 Feb 2022 ~ David Christianson
South Africa has every reason to be proud of its automotive manufacturing industry. It is a tremendous asset to the country’s balance of trade. Two-thirds of the vehicles it makes are ex...read more
Gold tax scam in South Africa points to a huge illicit industry
10 Feb 2022 ~ David Christianson
Fraudulent activity in South Africa’s second-hand gold market has been happening for years. But the details contained in a 2021 judgement suggests that the scale of this trade may be tru...read more
“But how do they settle their trade disputes if they never litigate against each other?”
10 Feb 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
This question was asked by someone (yes, it was a lawyer) participating in a recent tralac seminar. It was in response to a discussion in which we pointed out that sub-Saharan African Stat...read more
Mauritius concluded a trade agreement with India in 2021 – what is in the Agreement?
10 Feb 2022 ~ Paul Cormon (volunteer)
On 22nd February 2021, Mauritius signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with India. The CECPA entered into force on 1 April 2021. This is the first t...read more
What if? Another footnote to the demise of the SADC Tribunal: Henred Fruehauf Zambia Limited v Zambia Revenue Authority
01 Feb 2022 ~ Dawid van Wyk
When the leaders of the SADC member states decided in 2012 to scupper the SADC Tribunal instead of standing up to the instigator, Zimbabwe, they might not have foreseen the institutional h...read more
Should the AfCFTA accept a Flexibility Modality to launch preferential Trade?
01 Feb 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus, Trudi Hartzenberg
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is designed to function as one continental trade arrangement in the form of a Free Trade Area (FTA) for all the Member States of the Africa...read more
Making intra-African investment work for women: what should be considered in the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment
27 Jan 2022 ~ Lolita Laperle-Forget
The ongoing negotiations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Investment Protocol provide a unique opportunity to make the intra-African investment work for women. The Proto...read more
The AfCFTA must cope with global and continental challenges alongside existing structures: How will it do so?
26 Jan 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The AfCFTA is not only a trade deal. It is also a flagship project of the AU and must advance political and developmental aims to “deepen the economic integration of the African continen...read more
When will the AfCFTA be customs-ready?
24 Jan 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The negotiations to finalise the tariff schedules and rules of origin (RoO) of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are taking place during the last two weeks of January 2022. ...read more
REC Courts and the AfCFTA
24 Jan 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) adds an important new chapter to Africa’s economic integration agenda. The design of the AfCFTA regime will, however, require that that t...read more
What does the AfCFTA want to be and what could it become?
24 Jan 2022 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Do the legal instruments of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) contain a philosophy or strategy about deeper continental integration? What might this be? Is the AfCFTA a cont...read more
Message in a bottle
24 Jan 2022 ~ David Christianson
The South African government has an ambiguous attitude towards the alcohol industry. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has demonstrated a puritanical dislike for the sub-sector, banning sal...read more
Moving Up the Value Chain – How Can Africa Keep Climbing the Ladder?
21 Dec 2021 ~ John Stuart
In the standard model of world trade, which is taught to first year students around the world, the patterns of world trade are fixed and unchangeable. Ricardo’s classic model of comparat...read more