African Countries Economic Trade Bloc Comes into Effect Today
The African Countries Economic trade bloc, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement comes into effect on January 1, 2021.
However, Zambia remains one of the 21 countries that have not yet deposited their instruments of ratification.
Zambia’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Christopher Yaluma, disclosed at a media briefing in Lusaka on Thursday that the official launch of the AfCFTA will take place at a virtual event.
The event will be graced by the African Union (AU) Chairperson, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, and Ghana President, Nana Akuffo Addo.
Yaluma, however, disclosed that among the 55 Member States, Zambia is one of the 21 countries that have not yet deposited their instruments of ratification.
According to the Minister, the country has been given Cabinet approval to ratify the agreement but that it is currently under consideration by parliament for approval.
Yaluma revealed that Zambia became a signatory to the framework agreement establishing the AfCFTA since February 10, 2019.
He explained that the launch entails that AU Member States will now trade with each other across regional blocks under a single preferential trading regime.
The Minister noted that the establishment of the AfCFTA is part of the AU’s wide agenda to boost intra Africa trade and contribute to the attainment of the envisioned Africa in line with the vision 2063.
“I take this opportunity to signal the launch of the start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement scheduled to commence on January 1st, 2021.
“The launch of the start of trading under AfCFTA is a culmination of years of intense negotiations by AU Member States, work which is still going on,” Yaluma stated.
The AfCFTA was officially launched on March 21, 2018, in Kigali, Rwanda. As of December 2020, 54 AU Member States had signed the AfCFTA agreement.
The list if 21 countries yet to ratify the treaty include Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Others are Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
The AfCFTA comes into force on January1 after the original July 1 launch was postponed due to Covid-19.
According to African Union, under AfCFTA trading, tariffs on various commodities where rules of origin have been agreed will be drastically reduced and traders of all sizes will have access to a much bigger market than they used to before.
Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade will also be addressed and a mechanism for speedy reporting and resolution of NTBs has been put in place (www.tradebarriers.africa).
The bigger market will spur producers to upscale and so support increased industrialization and value addition on the continent.
More employment opportunities will thus be generated for Africa’s burgeoning youth population.
It has already been demonstrated that to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic medicines and personal protective equipment need to be produced and moved to where they are needed expeditiously.
The AfCFTA will be a tool for mitigation of Covid-19 by allowing free and unhindered trade in health products across the continent.
Read Also: Nigeria Signs AfCFTA to Join $3.4 trillion Economic Bloc
African Countries Economic Trade Bloc Comes into Effect Today
