African Continental Free Trade Agreement

Call for Application: Trade Policy Fellow

The objective of the fellowships is to provide technical support for the successful implementation of ATPC’s activities, including supporting a number of activities related to assisting member states and RECs in boosting intra-African trade and fast tracking the AfCFTA, as well as in supporting technical trade policy activities.

Afronomicslaw.org Academic Forum Guest Lecture Series:"The African Continental Free Trade Area in the Shadow of Contending Visions of Pan-Africanism"

April 8, 2021

The Afronomicslaw.org Academic Forum invites you to join their next guest lecture series.

Guest Speaker: Olabisi D. Akinkugbe, Assistant Professor of Law at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University

Date: Saturday April 10, 2021

Time: 5:00 - 7:00pm East African Time.

The Role of Trade Facilitation in Addressing Non-Tariff Barriers in the African Continental Free Trade Area

This article discusses the significant role of the role of trade facilitation in addressing NTBs in the AfCFTA. The article is divided into six parts. The first part outlines the various types of NTBs. The second part discusses trade facilitation. The third part discusses the trade facilitation and elimination of NTBs at the African regional level. The fourth provides an account of trade facilitation and removal of NTBs under the AfCFTA. Part five provides the concluding remarks. The sixth and last part offers some recommendations for the implementation of trade facilitation commitments under the AfCFTA Agreement with a view of effectively curbing NTBs in intra-Africa trade.

What Role Does the Constitution Play in Shaping and Implementing South Africa's Foreign Policy?

We have argued that the Constitution primarily allocates foreign policy responsibility to the national executive. The President and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and its foreign missions are the key actors in the executive responsible for making and overseeing foreign policy. The Constitution prescribes both substantive and procedural rules to guide the executive in its foreign policy choices

News: 3.18.2021

The News and Events published every week include conferences, major developments in the field of International Economic Law in Africa at the national, sub-regional and regional levels as well as relevant case law.

Border Posts Infrastructure Concessioning Regime and Trade Efficiency under the AfCFTA

This contribution proposes that African governments consider adopting border reform concessions that cover a range of solutions besides infrastructure. Should a concession be limited to infrastructure provision alone, the net effect of infrastructure on trade efficiency needs to be determined in an endeavour to arrive at fair user charges.

Trade Security Role of Customs Administrations within the AfCFTA

Trade security is an important component of Customs work. Customs administration should adapt to the environment they operate and the commencement of the AfCFTA is a new development which calls for adaptation. The AfCFTA presents challenges to trade security due to the large volumes of cargo whose movement should be as unhindered as possible. Various international instruments seek to promote trade security through promoting collaboration, capacity building for Customs administrators, as well as simplification and harmonization of procedures. Interestingly, all trade instruments discussed have demonstrated that trade facilitation and trade security are intrinsically inter-linked. Even though Customs administrations in the AfCFTA have embraced digital technologies they continue to have implementation challenges.