The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has wrapped up its first month of trading, having kicked off at the start of the new year. The nascent and wide-reaching trade area will be watched closely given its scope, size, and potential development impacts, along with what it means for existing regional communities and trading ties with other partners.
Africa’s Free Trade Area Opens For Business
The formal start of trading was given the official go-ahead at an extraordinary meeting in December 2020 where AU member states called on “women, youth, businesses, trade unions, civil society, cross border traders, the academia, the African Diaspora and other stakeholders to join them as governments in this historic endeavor of creating the “Africa We Want” in line with the Agenda 2063.