African Continental Free Trade Area - Opportunities and Challenges PDF
African Continental Free Trade Area - Opportunities and Challenges PDF
African Continental Free Trade Area - Opportunities and Challenges PDF
2478/tfd-2018-0032
Comments
African Continental Free Trade Area:
Opportunities and Challenges
Andrea Cofelice
On March 21st, 2018, at the end of the 10th countries; the elimination of non-tariff barriers
extraordinary session of the Assembly of (that is: excessively long customs procedures,
Heads of State and Government of the costly sanitary and phytosanitary measures,
African Union, forty-four out of the fifty-five complex and heterogeneous rules on product
member states of the Union signed the Treaty standards and licensing requirements, etc.); the
establishing the African Continental Free Trade definition of rules of origin; a deal on customs
Area (AfCFTA). cooperation and trade remedies. The AfCFTA
In terms of the number of countries involved agreement is also supplemented by the African
(with a combined GDP that is currently Union Protocol on Free Movement, with which
worth over two trillion dollars a year) and the the signatory states (currently twenty-seven)
population concerned (1.2 billion people), grant visa waiver, the right of residence and the
the AfCFTA represents the main free trade right of establishment for professional or work
agreement since the foundation of the World reasons to their citizens.
Trade Organization. Equally important is the Any decision on the elimination of tariffs related
timing of the agreement, as it stands in sharp to the remaining 10% of goods, represented by
contrast with an international context marked “sensitive products”, as well as on other issues
by a persistent and significant increase in such as investments, competition policies and
trade-restrictive measures, as well as by a intellectual property rights, has been postponed
growing resistance (or even hostility) towards to the second phase of negotiations, which is
the development of regional integration expected to start in the coming months
systems.
Expected benefits
The main objectives of the AfCFTA are certainly According to the United Nations Economic
ambitious. By removing tariff and non-tariff Commission for Africa, the implementation
barriers on goods and services, member of the agreement could increase intra-African
states intend to: facilitate intra-African trade; trade by 52%, compared to 2010 levels, by
promote regional value chains to foster the 2022, thus reducing the gap with intra-
integration of the African continent into the regional trade quotas currently characterizing
global economy; boost industrialization, Asia (51%), North America (54%) and Europe
competitiveness and innovation, ultimately (67%). In the short term, the main beneficiaries
contributing to Africa’s economic development of the AfCFTA would be small and medium-
and social progress. sized enterprises, that today account for 80%
Due to the wide scope of the agreement, the of the continent’s companies. However, in
negotiation has been divided into two phases. the medium to long term, the benefits will
The first one, which culminated in the March extend to all African citizens, who will achieve
treaty, focused on: phasing out tariffs on a welfare gain estimated at 16.1 billion dollars,
90% of goods exchanged between African especially favoring women (who currently
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DOI: 10.2478/tfd-2018-0032
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DOI: 10.2478/tfd-2018-0032
Comments
Executive council (composed of African trade by the regional economic communities and, as
ministers), supported by a Committee of senior a last resort, the African Court on Human and
trade officials. Peoples’ Rights1, which should be equipped
At least two critical remarks can be made in this with an ad hoc “trade chamber”, also with a
respect. By largely relying on the institutional view to creating positive synergies between
umbrella of the African Union, the AfCFTA trade law and human rights law.
will also import its main decision-making
mechanism, i.e. the rule of consensus among all Strengthening the interlinkage between
member states, with foreseeable consequences human rights and trade liberalization
for the effectiveness of deliberative processes Assessing the distributional impact of the
(whose limits are already known in the context AfCFTA agreement is crucial to ensure the
of the African Union). Secondly, the agreement complementarity between human rights
does not recognize any institutional role to the promotion and trade liberalization. Such an
Pan-African Parliament within the AfCFTA. assessment is even more relevant in light of a
Although this body does not have significant general and growing skepticism towards trade
legislative powers, it could nevertheless liberalization processes, fueled to a large extent
perform important functions of an advisory by a widespread perception that the benefits of
(acting as a permanent forum for dialogue and trade and globalization have not been equally
confrontation between institutional, economic distributed. It is therefore necessary to adopt
and civil society actors) and monitoring nature. appropriate policies to ensure that the potential
benefits in terms of increased productivity and
AfCFTA’s institutional architecture should welfare deriving from the realization of the
also adopt a “multi-level” character, and be AfCFTA are equally distributed.
supported by (sub-)regional and national In order to make AfCFTA a socially sustainable
institutions. In particular, at the (sub-)regional and inclusive agreement, in addition to the
level, the main challenge will be to rationalize cohesion and adjustment policies, as well as
and harmonize the different (and sometimes the mechanisms for consultation and access
conflicting) regimes of African Economic to remedies already analyzed above, it would
Communities with the aims and timing set for also be appropriate to: a) adopt a gradual and
the establishment of the AfCFTA. targeted approach to liberalization processes,
Finally, AfCFTA’s institutional framework is in order to safeguard the most vulnerable
completed by a dispute settlement mechanism, groups of the population, especially in vital
which is mandatory and binding for member sectors such as food security; b) monitor the
states, and is clearly based on the World Trade impact of the agreement on the economic
Organization model. and social rights of the populations involved,
In addition to this mechanism, which is through a systematic “human rights impact
exclusively intergovernmental, it would assessment”; c) maintain political control
be appropriate to explicitly recognize the over the implementation of the agreement,
possibility for individuals to assert their rights by abstaining from adopting, in the technical
under the AfCFTA. In this sense, the juridical agreements that will be negotiated in the
framework should be developed according framework of the AfCFTA, any provision that
to a subsidiarity perspective, consisting in a could undermine the institutional capacity
system of complaints and appeals that should to ensure that human rights are effectively
involve national courts, the courts established protected and respected.
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DOI: 10.2478/tfd-2018-0032
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In the near future, this Court will be replaced by the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, whose founding Protocol was adopted in July 2008 by the
Assembly of the African Union and will come into force after reaching the 15th ratification instrument. To date, six African states have ratified the Protocol: Benin,
Burkina Faso, Congo, Libya, Liberia, Mali.
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