The African Union has designated 2023 as the “Year of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)” and aims to accelerate implementation and expand the operational phase of the project. The AfCFTA is the world’s largest active free trade area in terms of members, population, and geographic size – 54 African states are signatories and 47 have ratified the AfCFTA Agreement which encompasses over 1.4bn people across the entire African...

Kenya and the five other members of the East African Community (EAC) have decided to expand their joint trade footprint and fully roll out the trade bloc’s single customs territory (SCT). The SCT commenced in 2014 as a pilot project that largely centred on the Northern Transport Corridor running from the Kenyan port of Mombasa through to other countries in the region. The SCT arrangements include a common external tariff (CET) structure...

Uganda (together with Tanzania and Rwanda) are currently subject to an out-of-cycle review of eligibility for preferential trade terms with the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The eligibility review has been brought about by the decision to ban the import of used clothing by member states of the East African Community, in their struggle to protect local producers and supply chains from cheap imported goods. Trading...

The 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appear close to agreeing a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. A deal was under discussion at negotiations held in late January between the two trade blocks and an agreement appears to have been reached in principle which could be formally ratified during the first quarter of 2014. Dialogue with the EU broke down in 2012, but was given fresh impetus...