Trading under Africa’s flagship free trade agreement went into effect on January 1 and so far, Ghana leads a moderate, if underwhelming, highlight reel after a week.
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was established to create a seamless environment for trade across the Africa Union’s member nations. It is the largest free trade area in the world since the World Trade Organization was established in 1995.
On January 4, Ghana organized an event to commemorate its first export under the agreement’s framework, setting the pace for other countries. It is one of three countries that has a suite of ready border and custom facilities that meet the AfCFTA’s trade terms.
Egypt and South Africa are also ready to carry out commercially meaningful trade.
54 of the 55 nations have signed on to the AfCFTA (except Eritrea), but only 35 have submitted their instruments of ratification to the AfFCTA secretariat.
Nigeria, the bloc’s most populous nation and largest economy submitted its ratification instrument in December 2019. However, it does not yet have the infrastructure for the agreement’s benefits to kick in.
At a virtual briefing on Tuesday, Wamkele Mene, the secretary-general of the AfCFTA, was confident that the start of the agreement Click here to read entire article
Source:: Tech Cabal
