- East African Community (EAC) Secretariat with the support of the Economic Commission for Africa proposes to develop a regional strategy for the implementation of African continent free trade area (AfCFTA).
- The strategy is expected to ensure that the region does not lose out in the AfCFTA and regional member countries as well as the bloc benefit from the larger continent market for goods and services.
East African Community (EAC) Secretariat with the support of the Economic Commission for Africa proposes to develop a regional strategy for the implementation of African continent free trade area (AfCFTA). The primary objective of AfCTA) which came into force this January 1 is to promote intra- Africna trade by liberalising cross border trade in goods and services that can open up a market of 1.2 billion people. It is projected that AfCFTA could push African consumer and business combined spending to $ 6.7 trillion by 2030, from $ 2.7 trillion in 2015.
The strategy is expected to ensure that the region does not lose out in the AfCFTA and regional member countries as well as the bloc benefit from the larger continent market for goods and services. The strategy will identify opportunities, gaps, and steps required to take full advantage of continental and global markets resulting from the AfCFTA in line with the interests and aspirations of both the partner states and the region. The first draft of the strategy is expected by next month.
Tanzania, Burundi, and South Sudan were granted six months to ratify the agreement by the East African council of ministers. The regional sectoral council of the Ministers of Trade, Industry, Finance, and Investment (SCTIFI) that met in December had made ratification of the AfCFTA Agreement mandatory for all African Union (AU) member states. The ministers urged Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan to ratify the AfCFTA Agreement by June 2021 in alignment with the African Union Ministers of Trade (AMOT) decision to have the outstanding Rules of Origin.
However, the East African block faces several challenges. Negotiations on tariff concessions, trade in services, and rules of origin for critical items such as motor vehicles, clothing and textile, sugar, and edible oils are yet to be concluded. The EAC partner states also have to reach an agreement on the modalities of preparing schedules of tariff offers for goods meant for liberalization.
