Years of Talks Historic! Trading Under the AfCFTA Launched

Historic! Trading Under the AfCFTA Launched By Adam Alqali & Abdulrahman Olagunju

The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in collaboration with the African Union Commission, Friday virtually hosted Start of Trading under the much-awaited Free Trade Area (FTA), which is the world’s largest free trade zone since the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994.

TRADING UNDER THE FTA, which was earlier billed to commence July 1, 2020 but had to be postponed to January 1, 2021 due to the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic (www.undp.org/ content/undp/en/home/coronavirus.html), epitomizes the manifestation of Africa’s long-held dream of continental economic integration ever since the formation of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU www.panafricanalliance.com/organizationof-african-unity) in 1963. Thus, the FTA creates out of Africa’s current 55 balkanized economies, a single continental market of 1.3 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion.

It would be recalled the Agreement

establishing the AfCFTA was signed at the 10th Extraordinary Summit of the AU Assembly on

the 21st of March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, and entered into force on the 30th of May 2019. The Agreement creates a single continental market for goods and services which allows for free movement of business persons and investments and will consequently expand intra-Africa trade across Africa’s Regional Economic Communities President Cyril Ramaphosa Sowetan LIVE

(RECs www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/peace/recs.shtml) as well as enhancing competitiveness and supporting economic transformation.

In his keynote address at the virtual launch,

President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa cum current chairperson of the

African Union, said the fact that 54 out of 55 AU countries had signed the AfCFTA Agreement, about 33 countries had ratifi ed it while over 40 countries had submitted their tariff off ers, was a strong signal as to Africa’s readiness to start trading on the basis of the new rules and preferences that would guarantee the One African Market. He thus urged member states that were yet to ratify the AfCFTA to fast-track the FTA process so as to ensure no one was left behind.

The AU chairperson also emphasized the need for recommitment of eff orts towards the AU’s overarching goal of Silencing the Guns in Africa (https://au.int/en/fl agships/silencing-guns-2020) – as eff ective and successful intra-Africa trading would solely depend on peace, security and co-existence between African communities. “As we look forward to ushering the AfCFTA trading, we shouldn’t forget our common commitment, ‘the silencing the guns campaign’, as we can’t have a successful trading without peace. We need to fast track all pending matters and make the Agenda 2063 a priority,” Ramaphosa urged.

In his opening remarks, Secretary General of the AfCFTA Wamkele Mene, underlined that the AfCFTA would not be just another trade agreement; instead, it would be a mechanism for Africa’s development by closing the gender pay gap, and creating the opportunity for African

value and supply chains to increase industry effi cacy on the continent, adding that the FTA would generate more employment opportunities Secretary General of the AfCFTA Chairperson AU Commission for Africa’s burgeoning youth Wamkele Mene Moussa Faki Mahamat population. thebftonline.com canadianinquirer.net Faki further said in order to guarantee ceaseless

SMEs to access new markets. “We are working supply of needed commodities for the over 1 very closely with our technical partners to develop billion population of the continent, there was need digital technology platforms that will enable to upscale the SMEs by providing conducive connectivity of Small to Medium Enterprises, and business environment for them to thrive, noting enable connectivity of young Africans in trade. that the AfCFTA had provided such a conducive

This Agreement does not benefi t only the big environment through drastic reduction of tariff s on corporations on the African continent, but it should various commodities, thereby allowing the SMEs always be inclusive of young Africans, women and the opportunity to access a much bigger market

African SMEs,” he said. than they used to before.

The AfCFTA principal said he was now convinced The AU Commission chief called on African

Africa had taken active steps to dismantle the entrepreneurs, pension funds and other colonial economic model it had inherited and stakeholders to invest in the One African Market so sustained over a period of 60 years. He therefore as to spur rapid growth of the continent’s economy restated the need for the continent to stop being and its competitiveness in the global value chain. exporter of primary products to countries of the “The African Continental Free Trade Area will global north and instead create jobs on the African fundamentally change the economic fortunes of continent, by developing its regional value chain our continent. I call on the entrepreneurs of our and becoming self-suffi cient through its own nation to seize the abundant opportunities that this continental production. historic development will present to explore new

“In 2020, Covid-19 has demonstrated, that markets and build new partnerships.”

Africa is overly reliant on import of primary goods, According to the African Union, Friday’s virtual overly reliant on global supply chains, and when Launch of Trading under the AfCFTA, held in these global chains are disrupted, Africa suff ers. partnership with the UN Economic Commission

When these global chains are subdued, we know for Africa (UNECA www.uneca.org), Africa that Africa suff ers. So we have to take active Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank www. steps to make sure this industrial development afreximbank.com), and AfroChampions Initiative is accelerated and this African Continental Free (www.linkedin.com/company/afrochampions), was the

Trade Area and the Launch of Trading today are fi rst of a series of events that would take place the fi rst steps we take into that direction,” Mene virtually and physically over the coming weeks, stressed. in commemoration of this important occasion in

In his address, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, the fulfi lment of the OAU founding fathers’ dream of a chairperson of the AU Commission, identifi ed truly united and integrated continent. the AfCFTA as undoubtedly an opportunity to www.africannewspage.net/2021/01/historicspur African industries to upscale and create new trading-under-the-afcfta-commences