Blog

Outcomes of COP25

Talkmore Chidede
19 Dec 2019
The 25th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) was held in Madrid, Spain from 2nd to 13th December 2019. COP25 was intended to be the l... read more

Finding African Solutions for the Taxation of Digital Trade

Ashly Hope (Volunteer), John Stuart
19 Dec 2019
The development of the digital economy has brought many public policy and administrative challenges to governments worldwide. Among these is how an international taxation system that was d... read more

How, according to the Founders, will the AfCFTA Agreement be implemented and the Continental Free Trade Area come about?

Gerhard Erasmus
17 Dec 2019
The objectives behind the AfCFTA are ambitious and wide-ranging. A careful reading of the texts of the founding instruments is necessary to understand the nature and sequencing of the vari... read more

Where is the AfCFTA’s Engine Room?

Gerhard Erasmus
17 Dec 2019
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) might not be designed to have one single “engine room,” but the scope of the underlying ambition seems to require one. The creation of ... read more

Observer status for the African Union at the WTO

Gerhard Erasmus
17 Dec 2019
On 17 November 2019, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission (AUC), sent a letter to Ms Sunanta Kangvalkulkij, Chair of the General Council of the World Trade Organiz... read more

Dealing with Non-Tariff Barriers under the AfCFTA: What are the Prospects?

Gerhard Erasmus
17 Dec 2019
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been designed as the answer to the low levels of intra-African trade.[1] It should boost intra-African trade by reducing the tariffs on... read more

Services Are the New Economy

John Stuart
26 Oct 2019
As the digitalisation of the global economy progresses, the value size of the services economy relative to the ‘real’ economy is steadily rising. Before computers and the internet, ser... read more

Africa’s Digital Connectivity Dividend in Waiting

John Stuart
26 Oct 2019
“We have to be able to provide infrastructure and digital connectivity to the lowest common denominator at the most affordable price if we really want digital transformation to transform... read more

Creating a Single African Market on Trade in Services: Negotiating the Schedules of Specific Commitments under the Protocol on Trade in Services

Beatrice Chaytor
26 Oct 2019
Introduction The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is an economic game-changer for Africa. A major aim of this ambitious effort is the expansion of intra-African trade by lower... read more

AfCFTA Trade in Services – A general guide and issues for negotiations on Mutual Recognition Agreements

Viola Sawere
26 Oct 2019
Business services sector, which include professional services, has been prioritised under the ongoing negotiations on schedules of specific commitments in the context of the African Contin... read more

The AfCFTA Approach to Mutual Recognition

Gerhard Erasmus
26 Oct 2019
For the liberalization of trade service to materialize to the extent that service suppliers can reap the associated benefits in the sectors recognized under the AfCFTA, there should be arr... read more

Cooperation on financial regulation under the AfCFTA: Where should member-states focus their efforts?

Ashly Hope (Volunteer)
26 Oct 2019
The Modalities and Guidelines adopted for services sector negotiations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are unlikely to lead to significant increases in financial ser... read more

What is the AfCFTA Approach to the Regulation of Trade in Services?

Gerhard Erasmus
26 Oct 2019
The AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services is a first endeavour to liberalize intra-African trade in services. For several States the task at hand is a novel one.  It involves deeper go... read more

How Similar are Africa’s Exporters? Implications for the AfCFTA

John Stuart
16 Oct 2019
Africa is a continent of great diversity, perhaps more so than any other of the continents. It is a continent richly endowed with resources and these endowments have long formed the basis ... read more

How Similar are Africa’s Trade Regimes? Implications for the AfCFTA

John Stuart
16 Oct 2019
The regional grouping of Africa – both its continental and island states – is a large and diversified bloc of countries. Within this region are multiple regional economic communities (... read more

South Africa’s submission on UNCITRAL ISDS reforms: Comments and implications

Talkmore Chidede
16 Oct 2019
Introduction Investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) has in recent years been criticised for its systematic imbalances, as well as inconsistent, flawed and excessive arbitral awards, amo... read more

The United Kingdom Supreme Court annuls the suspension of Parliament: What are the implications for Brexit?

Gerhard Erasmus
07 Oct 2019
Brexit has rewritten many of the rules of the game for British politics and constitutional law. It has just added another chapter of major importance to this saga. On 24 September 2019, th... read more

The Institutions of the African Continental Free Trade Area

13 Sep 2019
Free Trade Areas (FTAs) need institutions to oversee, promote and monitor the implementation of obligations by the State Parties. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) esta... read more

Implementing Trade Agreements: The Role of National Institutions and Administrative Law

13 Sep 2019
Trade and regional integration agreements must be implemented by the State Parties in order to make a difference. Who performs this function and what is the legal basis for the domestic im... read more

South Africa withdraws its Signature from the Decision to abolish the SADC Tribunal

13 Sep 2019
Changes to institutional arrangements can happen in unexpected ways and as a result of governments’ new policies. The correct procedure is to follow the formal procedures for adopting am... read more