The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, a blueprint for attaining inclusive and sustainable development across the continent over the next 50 years. It aims to boost intra-African trade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement among the member states, covering trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy.

The Agreement entered into force on 30 May, 2019 for the 24 countries that had deposited their instruments of ratification with the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson – the designated depositary for this purpose. As at February 2023, 46 countries have both signed and deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification with the AUC Chairperson. Of the 55 AU member states, only Eritrea has yet to join.

The operational phase of the AfCFTA was subsequently launched during the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Niamey, Niger on 7 July 2019. The AfCFTA will be governed by five operational instruments, i.e. the Rules of Origin; the online negotiating forum; the monitoring and elimination of non-tariff barriers; a digital payments system and the African Trade Observatory. As at January 2022, Rules of Origin have been agreed on 87.7% of total tariff lines and the operationalisation of the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) has been officially launched.

The AfCFTA Secretariat – charged with various responsibilities related to the implementation of the AfCFTA – is hosted by Ghana. H.E. Mr. Wamkele Mene was officially appointed the first Secretary General of the Secretariat on 19 March 2020. The AfCFTA Secretariat was officially handed over in Accra, Ghana on 17 August 2020.

An Extraordinary Summit of the AU Assembly on the AfCFTA took place virtually on 5 December 2020. The Assembly approved the start of trading under the AfCFTA Agreement as 1 January 2021, although this did not materialise. An update on the status of negotiations on outstanding issues and steps needed for commercially meaningful trade to take place under the AfCFTA was held on 28-29 January 2022.

On 7 October 2022, the AfCFTA Secretariat launched the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative in Accra, marking the commencement of trade under the Agreement for eight (8) participating countries: Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Tunisia, representing the five regions of Africa.

Background

The 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012, adopted a decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area by an indicative date of 2017. This deadline was, however, not met. The Summit also endorsed the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-Africa Trade (BIAT) which identifies seven priority action clusters: trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information, and factor market integration. See tralac’s e-booklet on the AfCFTA here.

pdf AfCFTA: a tralac guide | 9th edition, October 2022 (2.74 MB)

pdf tralac AfCFTA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | October 2022 (578 KB)

pdf AfCFTA: a tralac guide | 9th edition (FR Version) (4.92 MB)

The AfCFTA will bring together all 55 member states of the African Union covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class, and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$3.4 trillion. In terms of numbers of participating countries, the AfCFTA will be the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation. Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) suggest that the AfCFTA has the potential both to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by eliminating import duties, and to double this trade if non-tariff barriers are also reduced.

The main objectives of the AfCFTA are to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Customs Union. It will also expand intra-African trade through better harmonisation and coordination of trade liberalisation and facilitation and instruments across the RECs and across Africa in general. The AfCFTA is also expected to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploitation of opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources.

Factsheets

pdf tralac Special Trade Brief: AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (489 KB)

pdf Potential Cross Border Value Chain Involvement infographic (3.10 MB)

pdf The Agribusiness Value Chain in Africa infographic (484 KB)

pdf AfCFTA Institutions infographic (409 KB)

pdf Simplified Trade Regimes and Women Traders in Africa (698 KB)

pdf Making the AfCFTA NTB mechanism work for women traders (1.02 MB)

pdf Investment and Gender in the AfCFTA (334 KB)

pdf Gender and Digital Trade in the AfCFTA (1.00 MB)

pdf Architecture of the AfCFTA Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade (1.07 MB)

pdf AfCFTA Tariff Negotiations: Who negotiates with whom? (340 KB)

How flexible and effective will the AfCFTA be

What to expect from the AfCFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanism

The Framework for the Implementation of the AfCFTA

How will the AfCFTA protect the Rights of Private Parties

The Obligations to be implemented by the AfCFTA State Parties

The AfCFTA Agreement’s Annexes that deal with Customs and border management

African leaders held an Extraordinary Summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) from 17-21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, during which the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA was presented for signature, along with the Kigali Declaration and the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right to Residence and Right to Establishment. In total, 44 out of the 55 AU member states signed the consolidated text of the AfCFTA Agreement, 47 signed the Kigali Declaration and 30 signed the Protocol on Free Movement. To date, only Eritrea has yet to sign the consolidated text of the AfCFTA Agreement.

The legally scrubbed documents, signed on 16 May 2018, are available below:

pdf Compiled Annexes to the AfCFTA Agreement (985 KB)

Ratification status

According to Article 23 of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, entry into force occurs 30 days after the 22nd instrument of ratification is deposited with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) – the designated depositary for this purpose – an essential step for the AfCFTA to enter into force. The Agreement entered into force on 30 May 2019 for the 24 countries that had deposited their instruments of ratification before this date.

As at February 2023, 46 of the 54 signatories (85%) have deposited their instruments of AfCFTA ratification with the AUC Chairperson.

pdf Official list of signatures and ratifications as at 20 February 2023 (12 KB)

Status of AfCFTA ratification infographic (tralac)

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Rules of Origin and tariff offers

As at January 2022, tariff and rules of origin (RoO) negotiations under the AfCFTA are not yet complete. Agreed RoO cover 87.7% of tariff lines. June 2022 is the deadline to complete the RoO and tariff negotiations. There is an interim arrangement for trade to take place from 1 January 2021. Trade in goods, for which RoO are finalised, can take place under the tabled tariff offers. These offers must comply with the agreed modalities for tariff negotiations.

pdf AfCFTA Rules of Origin Manual, Vol. 1, July 2022 (12.32 MB)

pdf AfCFTA Rules of Origin Fact Sheet 1: Introduction to the AfCFTA RoO (947 KB)

pdf AfCFTA Rules of Origin Fact Sheet 2: Interpreting the rules | Key sector outcomes (671 KB)

pdf AfCFTA comparative tariff offer analysis (tralac) (772 KB)

Preferential trade with Mauritius: market access for the UK, China, and state parties of the AfCFTA

South Africa’s implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement: customs arrangements and technicalities

On trade in services, 46 countries have submitted their Schedules of Specific Commitments.

• AfCFTA Legal Documents and Resources

  Launch of the negotiations

  The establishment of the AfCFTA and the implementation of the BIAT Action Plan provide a comprehensive framework to pursue a developmental regionalism strategy. The former is conceived as a time bound project, whereas BIAT is continuous with concrete targets to double intra-African trade flows from January 2012 and January 2022.

  • Decision on Boosting Intra-African Trade and Fast Tracking the Continental Free Trade Area
  • Declaration on Boosting Intra-African Trade and The Establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA)
  • Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT): Issues Affecting Intra-African Trade, Proposed Action Plan for Boosting Intra-African Trade and Framework for the fast-tracking of a CFTA

  • Synthesis Paper on BIAT and Fast Tracking the CFTA

  The Continental Task Force (CTF) on the CFTA, which met for the first time in October 2013, is tasked with coordinating actions between the African Union Commission and the Regional Economic Communities to ensure that the CFTA negotiations are conducted within the agreed timelines.

  • Draft objectives and guiding principles for negotiating the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) - 2nd Meeting of the CFTA Continental Task Force (CTF), April 2013
  • Update on the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and Work Plan for the AU Commission for the Preparatory Phase of the CFTA Negotiations, 2014
  • Decision on the Report of the High Level African Trade Committee (HATC) on Trade Issues - 22nd AU Assembly, January 2014
  • Decision on the Report of the Extraordinary Session of the AU Conference of Ministers of Trade (CAMOT) - April 2014
  • Decision on the Report of the High Level African Trade Committee (HATC) on Trade Issues - 24th AU Assembly, January 2015

  • Decision to convene a Dedicated Session of Senior Officials to develop a Road Map towards the launch of the CFTA negotiations - 26th AU Executive Council, January 2015

  Negotiations for the establishment of the CFTA were officially launched in June 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa. H.E Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger, was mandated by the 28th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in January 2017 to champion the process of the CFTA. A Progress Report on the CFTA negotiations was received by the 29th AU Assembly in July 2017.

  • Decision on the Launch of Continental Free Trade Area Negotiations - Johannesburg, June 2015
  • Declaration on the Launch of The Negotiations for the Establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) - Johannesburg, June 2015
  • Draft Framework, Road Map and Architecture For Fast-tracking the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA)

  • Decision to establish a High Level Panel of five eminent persons to champion the fast tracking of the CFTA - 27th AU Assembly, July 2016

  The CFTA Negotiating Forum (CFTA-NF) has held eight meetings towards the finalisation of the draft modalities for negotiations on both tariff liberalisation and trade in services. Four meetings of the CFTA Technical Working Groups were held in 2017: in February (Kigali), April (Nairobi), August (Durban) and November (Abuja), giving trade experts the opportunity to provide technical inputs in the draft CFTA texts. The 8th Negotiating Forum arrived at three outcomes on the CFTA: Framework Agreement on the CFTA, Protocol on Goods, and Protocol on Trade in Services and a built-in agenda. The three documents were formally approved and adopted by African Trade Ministers in Niamey, Niger in December 2017.

  • Update on the outcome of the Third Meeting of the CFTA Technical Working Groups - Durban, September 2017

  The fifth meeting of African Union Ministers of Trade (AMOT), held in Kigali, Rwanda on 8-9 March 2018, adopted the legal instruments constituting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), namely (a) the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA, (b) the Protocol on Trade in Goods, (c) the Protocol on Trade in Services, and (d) the Protocol on Rules and Procedures for the Settlement of Disputes. Legal scrubbing of the documents was concluded during the Ministerial Meeting of the Second Extra-Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs held on 14 and 15 March ahead of the official signing ceremony which took place during the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the Assembly of the AU on 21 March 2018 in Kigali.

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  Launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area

  African leaders held an Extraordinary Summit on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) from 17-21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, during which the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA was presented for signature, along with the Kigali Declaration and the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right to Residence and Right to Establishment. In total, 44 out of the 55 AU member states signed the consolidated text of the AfCFTA Agreement, 47 signed the Kigali Declaration and 30 signed the Protocol on Free Movement.

  To date, only Eritrea has yet to sign the consolidated text of the AfCFTA Agreement.

  Below are the legal instruments signed at the Summit launching the AfCFTA on 21 March 2018:

  • Indication of legal instruments signed at the 10th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly on the Launch of the AfCFTA

  • Kigali Declaration for the launch of the AfCFTA

  • Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA: Consolidated agreed text
    • Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA: Consolidated agreed text (French)

    • Status of signature and ratification as at 16 July 2019

  • Protocol to the Abuja Treaty relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment, adopted 29 January 2018
    • Protocol to the Abuja Treaty relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment (French)

    • Status of signature and ratification as at 16 July 2019

  • AU Executive Council Decision on the Draft AfCFTA Agreement, 19 March 2018
  • AU Assembly Decision on the Draft AfCFTA Agreement, 21 March 2018

  • Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA: Kigali Draft text (consolidated), March 2018

  The legally scrubbed documents, signed on 16 May 2018, are available below:

  • Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area
  • Compiled Annexes to the AfCFTA Agreement
  • Compiled Annexes to the AfCFTA Agreement (French)

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  Launch of the operational phase

  The operational phase of the AfCFTA was launched during the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly on the AfCFTA in Niamey, Niger on 7 July 2019. The AfCFTA will be governed by five operational instruments, namely a) the agreed AfCFTA Rules of Origin; b) Dashboard of the AU Trade Observatory; c) AfCFTA Trade in Goods Password Protected Dashboard; d) Pan-African Payments and Settlements System; and e) Continental Online Mechanism for Monitoring, Reporting and Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers.

  In addition to the Niamey Declaration on the Launch of the Operational Phase of the AfCFTA – the key outcome – the following Decisions were adopted by the Assembly: (i) on hosting of the Secretariat of the AfCFTA by Ghana; and (ii) on the successful hosting of the 12th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly and the First Mid-Year Coordination Meeting between the AU and the RECs.

  • 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly on the AfCFTA: Decisions and Declaration - July 2019

  The first meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers responsible for trade took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 24-25 October 2019. The 2nd Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the AfCFTA was subsequently held on 15 December 2019 in Accra, Ghana. The 33rd Ordinary AU Assembly held from 9-10 February 2020 in Addis Ababa, approved the recommendations of Council of Ministers to have an Extraordinary Summit on 30 May 2020 to approve all instruments required for the start of trading under the AfCFTA on 1 July 2020. This deadline was, however, missed as the world grappled with the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • AU Assembly Decision on the AfCFTA - February 2020

  H.E. Mr. Wamkele Mene was officially appointed the first Secretary General of the Secretariat on 19 March 2020. It is envisaged that the Secretariat will provide administrative support for the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement. The official handover of the AfCFTA Secretariat took place on 17 October 2020.

  During Preparatory Meetings for Commencement of Trading under the AfCFTA held from 16-20 November 2020, AU Head of State and Government urged Member States to prepare national strategies for utilising and benefiting from the AfCFTA. They also discussed the operationalisation of the customs provisions in the Agreement establishing the AfCFTA; the Protocol on Trade in Goods and related annexes as well as the instruments that have been agreed so far.

  • Statement by H.E. Wamkele Mene, AfCFTA Secretary General, to the Council of Ministers Responsible for Trade

  A virtual meeting of the 13th Extra Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (on the AfCFTA), held on Saturday, 5 December, 2020, under the Chairmanship of H.E. Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and Chairperson of the African Union (AU), underscored the urgent need for member states to kick-start trading activities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which will commence on the 1st of January 2021.

  • Report submitted to the 13th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly on the AfCFTA by H.E. Issoufou Mahamadou

  • Thirteenth Extraordinary Session (on the AfCFTA): Decision and Declaration - 5 December 2020
    

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  Negotiations on technical issues

  Following the submission of tariff concession schedules for trade in goods by each State Party (including the particular 90 percent of products that are to be liberalised, list of sensitive products requiring an extended time period for liberalisation, and list of excluded products that are to be temporarily exempted from liberalisation), initial market access offers on trade in services, and development of a list of product-specific rules of origin (part of the built-in agenda), the AfCFTA will then enter into force after the deposition of the 22nd instrument of ratification with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

  On 11-12 January 2019, the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee of the Ministers of Trade, Industry and Mineral Resources met to discuss The Entry into Force of the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA and its Implementation. Among other things, Ministers:

  • reaffirmed their commitment to the completion of all outstanding phases of the AfCFTA negotiations, and the upgrading and diversification of our economies’ productive capacities through increased value addition and transformation of raw materials as well as the development of a competitive services sector, so as to increase Africa’s competitive position in the global economy. 

  • urged the African Union Commission together with AU Member States to work with technical partners to engage all key stakeholders such as Parliament, civil society and private sector to build a constituency of support for the AfCFTA for enhanced ownership and inclusiveness, to enhance prospects for unhindered implementation of the Agreement.

  • urged Member states to build and strengthen the capacity of all strategic institutions involved in industry and trade governance to enhance efficiency in the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.

  • Final Declaration of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the STC of the Ministers of Trade, Industry and Mineral Resources - January 2019

  The AU Assembly adopted the Guidelines for Development of Schedules of Specific Commitments and Regulatory Cooperation Framework for Trade in Services and the new Roadmap for finalisation of AfCFTA Negotiations with a new deadline of June 2020, and requested H.E. Mahamadou to submit a progress report to the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on the AfCFTA in Niamey, Niger on 7 July 2019.

  Furthermore, the Assembly requested the African Union Ministers of Trade to:

  1. submit the Schedules of Tariff Concessions and Schedules of Specific Commitments on Trade in Services, in line with agreed modalities, to the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly in July 2019 and the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly in February 2020, respectively, for adoption; and

  2. conclude the negotiations on the Protocols on Investment, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights, Trade in Services on the other seven (7) sectors beyond the five (5) priority service sectors, and submit the draft legal texts to the January 2021 Session of the Assembly for adoption, through the Specialised Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

  During the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Addis Ababa in February 2019, H.E. Mr. Issoufou Mahamadou, President of the Republic of Niger and Leader of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), presented a report on the status and progress made in the AfCFTA negotiations the Road Map for Finalisation of Outstanding Work on Phase 1 and Conclusion of Phase II Negotiations; and Draft Guidelines for Services Negotiations under the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services.

  • Report on the AfCFTA by Mahamadou Issoufou with Annexes - February 2019

  • AU Assembly Decision on the African Union Continental Free Trade Area

  At the 10th Meeting of AfCFTA African Ministers of Trade in December 2019, the AUC was directed to organise a series of technical meetings of AfCFTA negotiating institutions from 10 February to 10 May 2020, and to come up with a detailed, sequenced and realistic work-plan. In addition, AMOT, among other things:

  • directed that the outstanding issues on RoO be concluded as soon as possible to facilitate the finalisation of tariff offers, and that a workshop of Chief Negotiators, RoO Experts, and the Private sector be convened by February 2020 to consider the policy notes

  • directed that Member States submit their initial offers for trade in services at the latest as agreed by 31st January 2020

  • approved the recommendations to establish TWGs on Investment, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Rights

  • directed the AUC to develop a brief on e-Commerce and present it to Member States for consideration

  • directed that work on development of AfCFTA long term adjustment facilities be undertaken by NF on the basis of the feasibility study and building on the seed capital provided by Afreximbank

  • adopted the declaration on WTO issues as proposed, and mandated the AU Group of Ambassadors in Geneva to come up with an African position on Reforms of the WTO System.

  • Final report of the 10th Meeting of AfCFTA African Ministers of Trade - December 2019

  The 8th Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers Responsible for Trade was convened in Accra, Ghana on 28-29 January 2022. Ministers assessed the status of negotiations on outstanding issues and steps required to move towards the start of commercially meaningful trading under the AfCFTA.

  The Ministers noted the progress made towards the conclusion of negotiations on Rules of Origin (RoO) and agreed that trading under the AfCFTA proceeds on the basis of agreed RoO covering 87.7% of total tariff lines.

  On trade in services, negotiations are at an advanced stage of completion with 46 member stats having submitted their Schedules of Specific Commitments. The Council directed that the negotiations be concluded by 30 June 2022.

  The Ministers took note of the work of the Committee on Phase II Negotiations, namely Investment, Competition Policy, Intellectual Property Rights, Digital Trade, and Women and Youth in Trade, and directed that negotiations on the relevant protocols be concluded by September 2022 for subsequent adoption by Heads of State and Government.

  • 8th Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers: Press Release - 29 January 2022

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• Stakeholder Perspectives

  Partnering with governments by business is essential to ensure and facilitate investment in the accompanying measures necessary to complement the AfCFTA. This includes intra-African trade infrastructure as well as supplying trade finance, trade information, and logistics services. Such provisions will help businesses recognise and realise the trading opportunities available through AfCFTA. Additionally, more active involvement of the private sector in terms of advocacy is required in order to ensure direct input into the AfCFTA negotiating institutions to ensure that the AfCFTA is shaped to assist the business community to trade in Africa.

  UNECA’s African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) and the African Union Commission (AUC) have stated: “AfCFTA is an opportunity for development in Africa. But it must be wielded by private enterprise. Through doing so, businesses can benefit from the great opportunities that the continent has to offer, and contribute to its sustainable growth and development.”

  • African Continental Free Trade Area: Questions and Answers, updated January 2020 - ATPC and AUC

  • AfCFTA Questions and Answers - March 2018 (French)

  Although an advocacy and communication strategy has been developed to ensure that there is a buy in from all stakeholders in the AfCFTA – the AUC, RECs, member states, civil society, parliamentarians, and the private sector – African civil society organisations have made several calls for citizens, workers, farmers, traders, producers, enterprises, and the private sector to participate more effectively in negotiations towards the AfCFTA to ensure their concerns and views are adequately reflected.

  • Policy Brief on the African Continental Free Trade Area: UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) - January 2022
  • Key Note Address: H.E. Albert Muchanga African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry - tralac Annual Conference 2020
  • AfCTFA Critical Success Factors - Private Sector Perspective: Valentina Mintah - tralac Annual Conference 2020
  • Conditions for success in the implementation of the AfCFTA: Work commissioned by the AUDA-NEPAD - January 2020
  • Conditions for success in the implementation of the AfCFTA (French) - January 2020
  • 2019 African Regional Integration Report: Voices of the RECs - AUC
  • The AfCFTA: Opportunities and Challenges - CUTS International Study by Théophile Albert, 2019
  • The AfCFTA Secretariat: Presentation by Beatrice Chaytor Senior Trade Expert, AfCFTA Support Unit - tralac Annual Conference 2019
  • Assessing Regional Integration in Africa IX: Next steps for the African Continental Free Trade Area - UNECA-AUC-AfDB-UNCTAD, July 2019
  • Key Note Address by AUC Commissioner for Trade and Industry Ambassador Albert Muchanga - tralac Annual Conference 2018
  • Update on the Continental Free Trade Area negotiations: Presentation by Mr. Prudence Sebahizi, Chief Technical advisor on the CFTA and Head of CFTA Negotiations Support Unit, AUC - 2017 African Prosperity Conference
  • Civil Society Advocacy around the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Timeline 2016-2017
  • Report: The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) in Africa – A Human Rights Perspective - Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and UNECA, July 2017
  • African Civil Society Statement on the Continental Free Trade Agenda at Africa Trade Week - November 2016
  • Fast-tracking the Continental Free Trade Area: Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as Building Blocks: Paper by Mr. Prudence Sebahizi, African Union Commission - November 2016
  • Déclaration de la société civile africaines préalablement à la Semaine du commerce africain sur la Zone de libre-échange continentale - November 2016
  • The CFTA We Want: African Civil Society Demands at Africa Trade Week - November 2016
  • Scoping study: Designing the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) – An African Human Rights Perspective - FES, May 2016
  • Report: Colloquium on Africa’s Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) – Internal coherence and external threats - TWN-Africa and ATPC, March 2016
  • The CFTA: Elements, Expectations, Schedules and Challenges - Presentation by Prudence Sebahizi, CSOs Consultations in Accra, March 2016

  • Transparency, Consultation and Participation in the CFTA Negotiations in Africa: Recommendations from the Multi-Stakeholder Expert Workshop on a Potential Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) of the CFTA (2015-2017)

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Research and analysis

tralac has been monitoring the AfCFTA negotiations with keen interest. Several papers, briefs and discussion notes have been published to encourage debate and inform government officials, policymakers, and interested stakeholders on key issues involved in the negotiation of Africa’s own mega-regional trade agreement. A list of related outputs is available below.

• Blogs

  The tralacBlog offers a forum for the views of tralac researchers and Associates, as well as guest contributors, on issues pertaining, among other things, to the AfCFTA, the negotiation of its legal instruments, and practical implications for African governments and private parties, in order to encourage discussion and debate. All views and opinions expressed herein remain solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of tralac.

  Trade Facilitation and institutional arrangements under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement by Rwatida Mafurutu – 03 Jul 2021

  Making the AfCFTA and the RECs work by Gerhard Erasmus – 03 Jun 2021

  The Relationship between Investment and Mode Three of Trade in Services – implications for the AfCFTA negotiations by Gerhard Erasmus and Trudi Hartzenberg – 23 Mar 2021

  Speculating about Phase II of the AfCFTA Negotiations by Gerhard Erasmus and Trudi Hartzenberg – 10 Feb 2021

  AfCFTA Phase II and III Negotiations – Update by Talkmore Chidede – 10 Feb 2021

  AfCFTA Parallelism and the Acquis by Gerhard Erasmus – 10 Feb 2021

  Preparing for the start of trade under the AfCFTA: Could Medicines be included? by Gerhard Erasmus – 11 Dec 2020

  The AfCFTA will grow gradually and via measures taken in different Forums by Gerhard Erasmus – 11 Dec 2020

  The AfCFTA in a global Context by Gerhard Erasmus – 11 Dec 2020

  First Meeting of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Technical Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights by Abrie du Plessis – 11 Nov 2020

  The AfCFTA creates an additional African Free Trade Area by Gerhard Erasmus and Trudi Hartzenberg – 28 July 2020

  Use of Electronic Certificates of Origin now and beyond COVID-19 in intra-African Trade by Rwatida Mafurutu - 29 Jun 2020

  An Agenda for the AfCFTA Protocol on E-Commerce by Ify Ogo – 25 Jun 2020

  View all Blogs.

• tralac Publications

  tralac has prepared several Trade Briefs and Working Papers on legal and practical issues related to the negotiation and signing of the Agreement Establishing the AfCFTA. These are listed below.

  The Potential of the Clothing & Textile Regional Value Chain under the AfCFTA - 22 Dec 2022

  The Potential of the Agribusiness Regional Value Chain under the AfCFTA - 22 Dec 2022

  Benefitting from the AfCFTA: The Case of Mauritius - 22 Dec 2022

  The AfCFTA design will determine how it will function and evolve - 29 Nov 2022

  How the AfCFTA began and evolved - 28 Nov 2022

  The Digital Economy Opportunity for the AfCFTA - 28 Apr 2022

  Does the AfCFTA provide for a new Approach to Regional Integration in Africa? - 21 Feb 2022

  Will Trade Remedies be used as part of Trade Governance under the AfCFTA? - 21 Feb 2022

  Africa and the adoption of HS2022: Implementation update, impact and consequences in the context of AfCFTA - 01 Feb 2022

  Customs cooperation in facilitating intra-African trade - 20 Dec 2021

  Should the RECs disappear in order to have the AfCFTA? - 02 Nov 2021

  Agricultural Issues in the African Continental Free Trade Area - 30 Jul 2021

  Can the AfCFTA evolve into a New Generation Partnership for Africa? - 30 Jul 2021

  The Framework for the Implementation of the AfCFTA - 30 Jul 2021

  Resilience in African Economies: What Governments could do and the AfCFTA could contribute - 20 Jul 2021

  Gender Provisions in African Trade Agreements: An Assessment of the Commitments for Reconciling Women’s Empowerment and Global Trade - 19 Jul 2021

  The institutional architecture for implementation of the trade facilitation agenda under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement - 03 Jul 2021

  The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA): what has South Africa actually offered Africa? - 31 May 2021

  Realising the One African Services Market through the AfCFTA - 31 May 2021

  An Investment Protocol for the AfCFTA - 19 Apr 2021

  The AfCFTA needs an active and innovative Secretariat - 19 Apr 2021

  The new Rules of Origin in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): what has been agreed, what remains outstanding - 24 Mar 2021

  The AfCFTA – implications for Africa’s investment landscape - 29 Jan 2021

  The Regime governing Trade under the AfCFTA from 1 January 2021 - 29 Jan 2021

  View all Publications.

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