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Building capacity to help Africa trade better

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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

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

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

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
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