Scope of the African Continental Free Trade Area – [Part A (1 of 9)] – The AfCFTA Two phased Approach
Two Phases
It has been widely reported that on the 01st of January 2021, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement came into effect. While this statement is true, it does not tell the whole story. A more accurate fact is that on the 01st of January 2021, the first phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement came into effect.
Fellow PanAfreekans, in the next few articles publications we will be providing you with a series of articles that will provide a detailed overview of the scope of the AfCFTA Agreement and we, are kicking this off by pointing out that the AfCFTA Agreement as we know it is actually made up of two phases and while the first phase of the Agreement has come into effect from 01 January 2021, there is a second phase that will require a series of negotiations that will come into effect at a later date.
The Two Phased Approach of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement
This diagram illustrates the two phases. Phase 1 (green items) consists of everything that became effective on the 01st of January 2021 while phase 2 (red items) consists of everything that will be adopted at a later stage.
To further illustrate, in terms of Article 6 of the (Continental Free Trade) Agreement, the scope of this agreement covers the following protocols:
- Trade in goods,
- Trade in services,
- Investment
- Intellectual Property rights
- Competition policy.
However, in the very next section of the agreement (Article 7), it does cite that member states still need to enter into Phase 2 negotiations (which will commence only after the adoption of the Agreement) for:
- Investment
- Intellectual Property rights
- Competition policy.
These protocols (both phase 1 and phase 2) may have associated Annexes and Appendices and (and in future may include additional instruments within the scope of the Agreement). All of these documents however form an integral part of the Agreement and the principle of single undertaking thus applies for all member states that are bound by the Agreement.
In future articles, we intend to provide an overview of the Phase 1 protocols (i.e. protocols on trade in goods, services and rules and procedures on the settlement of dispute), their associated annexes and appendices where applicable. We hope at a later time in future to also incorporate an overview of phase 2 protocols (i.e. protocols on investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy) in later publications.
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