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Kenya launches national trade strategy (Kenya News Agency)
Kenya has launched its National African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation Strategy 2022-2027 to boost opportunities for industrial diversification, investment and job creation.
The strategy also aims at deepening relations with other countries in the African Continent which has a population of over 1.3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product of over USD 3.4 trillion.
Speaking during the launch of the Strategy and unveiling of AfCFTA National Implementation Committee held at a Nairobi hotel today, the Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, Ms. Betty Maina said AfCFTA will help the country’s trade expansion into untapped African markets.
Agribusiness entrepreneurs must take advantage of AfCFTA (BusinessGhana)
Ghana: The Managing Director of Agricultural Development Bank Plc, Dr. John Kofi Mensah has disclosed that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will help agribusiness entrepreneurs to access the African Market.
The AfCTA is a single market (duty-free-quota-free) trading bloc covering the entire African Continent with a total population of 1.3 billion to create a single continental market for goods and services.
Speaking on the side of the launch of the National AfCFTA Policy Framework Action Plan at the Kempinski Hotel, Gold Coast City in Accra, Dr. Kofi Mensah said Ghanaian entrepreneurs in the Agricultural sector can access a market with a combined Gross Domestic Product of almost USD3.4 trillion.
KAM says home hurdles will hurt Kenya in Africa trade deal (The Star Kenya)
The business costs, bureaucratic policies and unfriendly regulations threaten to derail Kenya from tapping into the African market, local manufacturers now say.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers said the hurdles expose Kenyan industries to low export volumes, as their products are expensive compared to other key markets.
This is against cheaper imports from other African markets, under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which seeks to address tariff and non-tariff barriers.
However, Kenya which is among the 49 member states that have ratified the agreement, lacks product competitiveness due to quality challenges, high trade investment and trade costs.
African trade and integration
South Africa-Botswana roundtable cements bilateral relations (SAnews)
President Cyril Ramaphosa says government would like to see “far greater levels of trade and investment” between South Africa and Botswana. He was giving his closing remarks at the High Level South Africa-Botswana Business Roundtable held at the Gaborone International Convention Centre in Botswana on Thursday.
“His Excellency [Botswana] President [Mokgweetsi] Masisi and I agreed that we need to encourage business in our respective countries to invest in catalytic development projects, particularly infrastructure. It has been pleasing to have representatives of our respective state-owned companies share their perspectives on the importance of infrastructure development to our common industrialisation efforts.
African Economic Blocs to Meet in Kigali to Explore AfCFTA Opportunities (Top Africa News)
Business executives from different African trading blocs are set to meet in Kigali next week, to draw strategies through which they can tap into opportunities offered under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
The two-day meeting, according to the CEO of East African Business Council (EABC) John Bosco Kalisa, will bring together traders from the East African Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC).
"As a follow up to the recommendations and action plan from the Accra meeting, the East African Business Council will meet in Kigali along with SADC and COMESA to jointly position themselves in the efforts towards preparing the private sector to benefit from the AfCFTA" Kalisa said.
NSC Links Trade Imbalance In W/A To Composition Of Sub-Sahara African Trade (The Tide)
Worried by the slow flow of trade in West Africa, Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has said that the composition of West African Sub-Sahara African trade was responsible for trade imbalance in the sub-region.
Executive Secretary, Chief Executive Officer, NSC, Emmanuel Jime, stated this in Port Harcourt during a one-day sensitisation programme on the mandate of Shippers Council as ports economic regulator, with the Theme, “Port Economic Regulator NSC in Focus”.
NSC, he said, was mandated to creates an effective regulatory regime at Nigerian Ports for the control of tariff, rates, charges and other related economic service’s
Cape Town to Host the 8th Africa Fintech Summit (Top Africa News)
In November 2022, leading innovators, investors, and policymakers from around the world will gather in Cape Town, South Africa, for the 8th edition of the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS).
With participants who represent over $4.5bn in private equity and venture capital funding, the AFTS is the premier global initiative dedicated to financial technology in Africa. The bi-annual summit occurs each April in Washington, D.C., and each November in a different African city. The AFTS Advisory Board
ETHICORE Political Lobbying & Moharram & Partners form largest pan African & Middle East partnership (BusinessGhana)
Award winning and leading pan African public policy, regulatory and government affairs firm, ETHICORE Political Lobbying has concluded a landmark partnership agreement with Egypt based Moharram & Partners (M&P).
ETHICORE and M&P have established the largest and first-of-its kind partnership in Africa and the Middle East. The firms are the biggest and leading indigenous public policy and government affairs agencies on the African continent.
Headquartered in South Africa with national offices in the economic centres of both Cape Town and Johannesburg, ETHICORE and its subsidiary – Africa Government Affairs Xchange (AfricaGX) has rising market coverage in 27 African and the Middle East countries.
Global economy
US: Africa can buy Russian grain but risks actions on oil (AP News)
African nations are free to buy grain from Russia but could face consequences if they trade in U.S.-sanctioned commodities such as Russian oil, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday.
“Countries can buy Russian agricultural products, including fertilizer and wheat,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. But she added that “if a country decides to engage with Russia, where there are sanctions, then they are breaking those sanctions.”
Thomas-Greenfield spoke in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, after a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, a U.S. ally who has not criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has expressed sympathy with Moscow.
Ukraine's Zelensky: Africa gains nothing from Russian ties (The East African)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday warned African countries against supporting Russia’s aggression on his country, saying the continent had gained little from siding with Moscow.
Zelensky told a group of African journalists that it was in Africa’s interest to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine because it would amount to supporting “the truth.”
On Thursday, President Zelensky said Africa should not see the war as distant but look at Ukraine as a victim of an invasion violating international law, which African countries have signed.
The US-Led Drive to Isolate Russia and China Is Falling Short (Bloomberg)
When Group of Seven leaders gathered in the Bavarian Alps in June, they pledged to stand with Ukraine for the long haul. Their Group of 20 counterparts are proving less supportive.
Comprising nations that account for some 85% of global economic output, the G-20 is supposed to be more reflective of the world. Yet only half its number has joined the international sanctions imposed on fellow member Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Senior officials from the smaller group of wealthy nations have been traveling the world to make the case for a tougher economic net around Russia. They’ve been surprised by the lack of sign-on from G-20 states, even if those countries aren’t going out of their way to help Moscow circumvent the penalties.
Facing the Future: CBP Hosts First Trade Summit in Anaheim (Customs and Border Protection)
The focus was on the future at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s first Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit. Over 3,000 attendees, 1,000 on-site and more than 2,000 virtually, gathered in Anaheim, California, July 18-20, to learn more about CBP’s forward vision in a constantly changing trade environment.
“I know we have experienced some incredible challenges over the past few years. In fact, even saying, ‘incredible challenges,’ sounds like a gross understatement. Some of these challenges have been driven by the pandemic. Others are a result of global, political, economic, and environmental trends. But they’ve been difficult,” said CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus, who welcomed the hybrid audience from the Hilton Anaheim.
“CBP’s trade experts are leading the global fight against forced labor, a practice with more than 25 million victims worldwide. We know forced labor hurts vulnerable workers of all kinds, legitimate businesses and consumers. I am incredibly proud of the work CBP has done to address this issue,” said Magnus. “Over the past year, CBP has issued five new withhold release orders and two findings. So far in this fiscal year 2022, CBP has detained approximately 2,000 shipments worth an estimated $358 million.”
Chinese trade bans on Taiwan risk 'deeper predicament' as Nancy Pelosi visit leaves geopolitics 'on the mind' of businesses (Yahoo Finance)
China should think twice before unleashing more economic weapons on Taiwan to avoid blowback that could leave it in a "deeper predicament", experts and foreign business leaders say.
Beijing launched a barrage of trade suspensions on Taipei on Wednesday following the controversial visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including export and import bans and sanctions on multiple organisations and companies for supporting "Taiwan independence".
Business Councils Call on Ottawa to Secure Trade Agreement With India (The Epoch Times)
Two business councils are urging the Canadian government to reach a trade agreement with India, as Western countries seek stronger political and economic ties with allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Business Council of Canada and the Canada India Business Council commissioned a report in which they recommend that the federal government forge stronger economic ties with India and develop a “comprehensive India strategy.”
“There is no path to achieving success in this massive and strategically important region without building strong and enduring economic ties with India—one of Canada’s last large, untapped trade opportunities,” said the report, published on Aug. 4.
Labour laws upgrade, simplification of taxes, stable tariffs key to India's trade: Report (The Week)
Upgrading labour laws, simplifying taxation and creating a stable tariff environment are imperatives to facilitate a larger trade between India and the world, a new report said.
'Building Resilient Global Value Chain Linkages in India: Findings from an Enterprise Survey' - a report jointly published by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and ORF America - examines how India can better integrate into global value chains (GVCs) in the post-COVID world.
"The risks posed by supply chain shocks have never been more visible, following the compounding crises of the US-China trade war, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. GVCs, once viewed as the silver bullet for economic development, are coming under increasing scrutiny," the think tank said in a release.
ASEAN foreign ministers say RCEP key contributor to region's recovery strategy (Xinhua)
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement would be a key contributor to the recovery strategy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to an ASEAN foreign ministers' joint communique released here on Friday.
In the joint communique issued after the 55th ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting (55th AMM) held in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, the ministers welcomed the entry into force of the RCEP from Jan. 1, 2022.
"The RCEP would make significant contribution to our recovery strategy and continue to support an inclusive and open trade and investment architecture in the region," the communique said.
China to Focus on Trade to Deepen Africa Ties, EIU Says (Yahoo Finance Australia)
China will deepen its ties with Africa over the next decade by focusing on trade and is unlikely to be dislodged by US and European Union attempts to re-engage with the continent, the Economist Intelligence Unit said.
The Asian country is likely to keep investing in Africa’s natural resources and may look to the continent as a source of food, boosting its expenditure on agriculture, the EIU said in a report released Thursday.
China plans to surpass the EU as Africa’s biggest trade partner by 2030, and while western powers are trying to boost relations with the continent, they will struggle to catch up, the EIU said. Their relations with the continent are complicated by Europe’s colonial history with Africa and distrust of their intentions due to erratic engagement over the last few decades.
India and Mauritius held the 1st session of India-Mauritius High-Powered Joint Trade Committee on 01-03 August 2022 in New Delhi.
The High-Powered Joint Trade Committee had been constituted as per the mandate of the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership agreement (CECPA), to review the general functioning and implementation of the India-Mauritius CECPA which entered into force on 1st April, 2021. CECPA is the first trade Agreement signed by India with a country in Africa.
Both sides noted that the traditionally close, strong economic ties between the two countries touched a new high with the signing of the landmark CECPA. Appreciating the growth of the bilateral merchandise trade between India and Mauritius, which rose to USD 786.72 million in 2021-22 from USD 690.02 million in 2019-20, both sides agreed to enhance bilateral collaboration to further increase bilateral trade and realize the true potential of the bilateral relationship especially under the CECPA.
