afcfta

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area founded in 2018, with trade commencing as of 1 January 2021. It was created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement among 54 of the 55 African Union nations.
The free-trade area is the largest in the world in terms of the number of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization. Accra, Ghana serves as the Secretariat of AfCFTA and was commissioned and handed over to the AU by the President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo on August 17, 2020 in Accra.The agreement was brokered by the African Union (AU) and was signed on by 44 of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018. The agreement initially requires members to remove tariffs from 90% of goods, allowing free access to commodities, goods, and services across the continent. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimates that the agreement will boost intra-African trade by 52 percent by 2022. The proposal was set to come into force 30 days after ratification by 22 of the signatory states. On April 2, 2019, The Gambia became the 22nd state to ratify the agreement, and on April 29 the Saharawi Republic made the 22nd deposit of instruments of ratification; the agreement went into force on May 30 and entered its operational phase following a summit on July 7, 2019.The general objectives of the agreement are to:
create a single market, deepening the economic integration of the continent
establish a liberalised market through multiple rounds of negotiations
aid the movement of capital and people, facilitating investment
move towards the establishment of a future continental customs union
achieve sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development, gender equality and structural transformations within member states
enhance competitiveness of member states within Africa and in the global market
encourage industrial development through diversification and regional value chain development, agricultural development and food security
resolve challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships

View More On Wikipedia.org