Blog
Are Egypt’s Reforms built on Sand?
24 Apr 2024 ~ David Christianson
Egypt’s decision, taken in March 2024, to float its currency appears to be a signal that the country is taking its pro-market reform programme seriously. The over-valued Egyptian pound h...read more
Accelerating Access to Finance for Women Entrepreneurs: Gateway to regional, continental, and international trade
06 Apr 2024 ~ Mary Frances Malunga
Access to finance is a key barrier for women entrepreneurs. Women in business, trade and export face gender biases as they seek access to finance. Financial institutions question the abili...read more
What Happened at the WTO’s Thirteenth Ministerial Conference?
18 Mar 2024 ~ Emily Pender
The results of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) – held between the 26th of February and midnight on the 2nd of March in Abu Dhabi – were mix...read more
What MC13 Achieved for Least Developed Countries
11 Mar 2024 ~ Emily Pender
Delegates of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met for the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) between the 26th of February and the 2nd of March in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE...read more
Is Sub-Saharan Africa Deindustrialising? Interrogating Value-Chain and Trade Data
29 Feb 2024 ~ John Stuart
While most economists agree on the need for accelerated industrialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there is less consensus on whether the region has experienced a long term decline in ...read more
Export Competitiveness, Export Diversification and Deindustrialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa
29 Feb 2024 ~ John Stuart
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a large, resource-rich region but one which lags the global aggregate in terms of industrialisation. This is of concern not least because of the developmental p...read more
The EAC wants to become a “Political Confederation”. What could this mean?
29 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The media recently reported that the process of transforming the EAC into a political confederation “is in progress”.[1] Certain recommendations have already been made by a “Committe...read more
Where does the AfCFTA stand at the beginning of 2024?
29 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Fifty-four African Union (AU) member states have signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement (only Eritrea has not[1]) and 47 have ratified it.[2] At present, the Non...read more
South Africa’s participation in the Guided Trade Initiative of the AfCFTA
29 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The negotiations to adopt the legal instruments of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) were launched in 2015. Four years later the AfCFTA founding Agreement and its Protocols ...read more
Ministerial Directive 1/2021 clarifies and expands the legal basis of the AfCFTA
29 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is anchored in a comprehensive set of legal instruments. They have been negotiated, adopted, and ratified to ensure that the founding Agree...read more
Notification of the AfCFTA in terms of WTO rules
29 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Practically all African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) State Parties are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the AfCFTA must therefore be notified and function in terms...read more
Comparing the Abuja Treaty and the AfCFTA Agreement
29 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
African economic integration has a long history. Both the African Union (AU) and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was Africa’s first post-independence cont...read more
What’s on the Cards for MC13? Reform, E-Commerce, Fish Subsidies and more
28 Feb 2024 ~ Emily Pender
The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) has begun in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and will run until the 29th of February 2024. The list of topics and deliverables to ...read more
The AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol – clarification of key issues
25 Feb 2024 ~ John Stuart
The Digital Trade Protocol (‘the Protocol’) of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a document intended to define the environment for digital trade between members of th...read more
The AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade and Trade-Driven Development in Africa
24 Feb 2024 ~ John Stuart
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade (the ‘Protocol’) aims to enhance the involvement of women and youth within the AfCFTA. It outlines...read more
SA’s New Energy Vehicle future hangs in the balance
24 Feb 2024 ~ David Christianson
As promised, South Africa’s finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, did announce incentives for New Energy Vehicle (NEV) manufacturing in his 2024 budget speech. But the package is decidedly...read more
Africa’s Visa Openness in 2023: Analysis of the Africa Visa Openness Report
20 Feb 2024 ~ Emily Pender
Cross-border movement of persons is essential for Africa’s regional integration; for the facilitation of trade in goods, growth of trade in services and related service sector developmen...read more
Indaba Insights: The Mining Outlook in 2024
20 Feb 2024 ~ Emily Pender
The theme of 2024’s Mining Indaba was “Embracing the power of positive disruption: A bold new future for African mining”. The three key, “positive disruptors” discussed were envi...read more
Mining Indaba 2024 – South Africa cold-shouldered at its own party
19 Feb 2024 ~ David Christianson
Although the Mining Indaba was held at its usual venue in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2024, participants showed very little interest in the host country. Delegates and speakers were far mo...read more
The Digital Trade Protocol of the AfCFTA and Digitally-Driven Development in Africa
15 Feb 2024 ~ John Stuart
One of the important protocols forming part of the set of agreements within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the Digital Trade Protocol (‘the Protocol’). This protoc...read more
SARS Investigation (and Ports Crisis) Scare Off Cargo Carriers Despite opportunities resulting from the Red Sea Crisis Reroute
15 Feb 2024 ~ Emily Pender
The Situation
At the State of the Nation (SONA) address on 8 February 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke of the role that South Africa could play in global trade given the Red Sea cris...read more
Infrastructural development under the AfCFTA
14 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Apart from Annexes dealing with customs administration and border governance issues, the AfCFTA Agreement does not mention infrastructural development explicitly as one of its objectives. ...read more
Too Much Gloom at Davos
14 Feb 2024 ~ David Christianson
The organizers of the World Economic Forum (WEF) do not always get the selected theme quite right. Some years, the great and the good who attend the annual uber-capitalist event in Switzer...read more
Three’s a Crisis: Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali announce that they will leave ECOWAS
13 Feb 2024 ~ Emily Pender
On 8 February, the foreign ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened to address the potential loss of three member states. At the end of January Niger, M...read more
A messy withdrawal from ECOWAS
12 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
On 29 January 2024, the military juntas of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Their explanation was that ...read more
The WTO Dispute Settlement Impasse: What is happening?
12 Feb 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The WTO’s Understanding on Dispute Settlement (DSU) provides World Trade Organisation (WTO) members with a legal framework for resolving trade disputes that arise between them when imple...read more
Africa out of the spotlight at the World Economic Forum?
24 Jan 2024 ~ Emily Pender
Last week, the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) took place in Davos, Switzerland. In recent years, Africa was at the forefront of discussions, but this year lacked hig...read more
South Africa’s Draft Integrated Resource Plan Undermines its Climate Ambitions
16 Jan 2024 ~ Gita Briel
South Africa’s renewable energy transition has been a bumpy and unpredictable one where policies and actions often appear misaligned. The government has recognised the need to decarbonis...read more
How will the AfCFTA contribute to better trade governance?
16 Jan 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has the potential to bring about major changes (and benefits) to how trade in goods and services will be conducted on the continent. Africa...read more
What does the AfCFTA Agreement provide for in respect of climate change?
10 Jan 2024 ~ Gerhard Erasmus
Effective policies are urgently needed in Africa to deal with climate-induced disasters. This will require high levels of political commitment, regional and domestic strategies, collective...read more