The Pan-African free trade agreement in effect

The World Economic Forum has determined that Africa is accounting for less than 5% of global trade, and less than 20% intra-continental exports compared with about 60% for Asia and about 70% for Europe. The potential for transformation across Africa is therefore considered significant.

 There have for many years been bilateral cooperation agreements on trade and associated matters between certain African regions, such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) from 1992 and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) from 1994.

In 2018, however, a free trade area encompassing most of Africa was established and formalized by an agreement denoted African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) as brokered by the African Union (AU).
The agreement has been signed by 44 of AU’s 55 member states, making it the largest free-trade area by number of member states, after the World Trade Organization, and the largest in population and geographic size, spanning 1.3 billion people across the world's second-largest continent.

Earlier this year, the AU announced that the AfCFTA entered into its operational phase, which effectively put the agreement into force.
The agreement aims to reduce all trade costs and enable Africa to integrate further into global supply chains. It shall eliminate 90% of tariffs, focus on outstanding non-tariff barriers, and create a single market with free movement of goods and services. Cutting red tape and simplifying customs procedures shall bring significant income gains. Beyond trade, the agreement also addresses the movement of persons and labor, competition, 
investment and intellectual property.

It might be considered ironic, or rather perhaps symptomatic, that this regional free trade agreement comes into effect at a time when much of the world is turning away from intercontinental cooperation and free trade.

(The article is based on the email received from AFSEC and edited by T.Sollie)