African Free Trade Area Set to Take Effect in July, Report Says
The African Continental Free Trade Area looks set to take effect in July during the next African Union Summit, according to a report in The East African. A total of 22 countries must ratify the agreement and submit their instruments of ratification, and 20 have done so, while another two have ratified but not yet submitted the paperwork. “The AfCFTA brings together a continental single market, which is expected to increase intra-African trade by 52 per cent come 2022, remove tariffs on 90 per cent of goods, liberalise services and tackle other barriers to intra-African trade,” the report said.
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All AU member states except Benin, Eritrea and Nigeria have signed the agreement, with Nigeria currently “engaged in impact and readiness assessment” on the agreement. Chad, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, eSwatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo and Uganda have submitted their ratifications, and Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone are the two remaining countries that have not yet submitted their ratifications, the East African said.