The AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Goods, associated Annexes and Appendices [Annexes 1 – 2 of 9]
Annex 1 – Schedule of Tariff Concessions
One of the specific objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement is to progressively eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade goods (Article 4). The Schedule of Tariff concessions makes this possible in that it allows State Parties to come together and create (via a series of negotiations, compromises and tradeoffs) a schedule of concessions to tariffs that will otherwise not be applicable to other State Parties that do not belong to the Free Trade Area (this may not be the case should State Parties belong to co-existing trade agreements). The Tariff Concessions will help reduce the cost of imported goods (and subsequently services). At the time of writing this, the Schedule of Tariff Concessions had not been finalised, but following finalisation, it is expected to be tabled at the (African Union) Assembly. Once adopted by the Assembly, it will form a part of this Protocol as well as the Agreement in accordance with Article 23 of the Agreement.
Appendices – Schedule of Tariff Concessions
At this stage, there are none (which makes sense considering that the Schedule is yet to be finalised). However, following the adoption by the Assembly, there is a high probability that there will be several Appendices.
Annex 2 – Rules of Origin
Imagine a border/Customs post of a country. This could be the airport, a harbour or a land border. On a given day, many goods are moving in and out of a country via these customs posts. With the existence of the Free Trade Area, how will the customs Authority separate these goods such that the customs duties applied to each and every good is in accordance with the trade agreements this country has with the country from which the good has been sourced? The answer to this question lies in the rules of origin.
The rules of origin is a set of rules that will be applied to goods to help determine the national identity of goods entering a country. These rules of origin will ensure that goods of Countries that are not part of the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement do not unfairly benefit from the Tariff Concessions while ensuring that goods from State Parties that are part of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement are handled in accordance of terms of the Agreement.
Appendices – Rules of Origin
There are four appendices for the Rule of Origin.
Appendix 1 – AfCFTA Certificate of Origin
This appendix provides the guidelines and form structure for completing and determining a certificate of origin for a particular product as may be required of an Approved Exporter (See Articles 19(1(a)) and 20 of Rules of Origin Annex). Article 1 of Annex 2 defines a Certificate of Origin as the documentary proof of origin issued by a designated competent authority confirming that a particular product complies with the origin criteria applying to preferential trade under a Protocol.
Appendix 2 – AfCFTA Origin Declaration
This appendix provides the template for an Origin declaration of goods. Article 1 of Annex 2 defines an origin declaration as an appropriate statement as to the origin of the Goods made, in connection with their exportation by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, exporter or any other competent person on the commercial invoice or any other document relating to the goods.
Appendix 3 – AfCFTA Supplier of Producer Declaration
The objective of this appendix is to further the cause of determining the origin of completed and semi-finished goods. This appendix allows the supplier or producer of goods to provide evidence relating to their manufacturing contribution to semi-finished or finished goods. The Supplier or Producer declaration will make it possible to determine if the working or processing of semi-finished and finished goods allows the goods to qualify for a preferential origin status which inherently allows the goods to benefit from the Free Trade concessions.
The Appendix is divided into two declarations A and B. Appendix 3A is reserved for products that have preferential origin status and Appendix 3B is for products that do not qualify for preferential origin status.
Appendix 4 – AfCFTA Rules of Origin
At this stage, this appendix has not been published and will be inserted at a later date.
References (Ref.)
- Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area – African Union
- Protocol on Trade in Goods
- http://www.itac.org.za/pages/services/trade-remedies
Useful Links (UL)
- Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area – African Union
- Protocol on Trade in Goods
- https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/templates-business-guides/glossary/technical-barriers-to-trade
- http://tfig.unece.org/contents/gatt-v.html#:~:text=WTO%20GATT%20Article%20Vdefines%20international,warehousing%2C%20breaking%20bulk%2C%20or%20change