Repelled by the VOCID-19 pandemic, the official opening of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFTA) took place on 1 January 2021.
The aim of this Single Market project is to boost intra-African trade and boost economic development on a continental scale.
To date, of the 54 member countries, 34 have ratified the Agreement, and 41 have already begun tariff dismantling of import goods.
Objective: remove 90% of customs dutiesfor the most advanced economies, and 10 years for the others.
In addition to taking into account the sometimes divergent national interests within the coalition, one of the major challenges of the FTACA is its ability to develop the potential for logistics infrastructure capable of supporting large-scale intra-African trade flows.
According to its promoters, the African common market is expected to double trade between member countries by 2025.
To go further...
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Editor(s): J. GOODTON