The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) announced today that the free trade agreement, scheduled to enter into force in July, has been postponed to at least 1 January 2021.
“Given the urgent need for governments to focus on protecting lives against covid-19, the July 1 start date for trade under the new agreement has been postponed to at least January 1, 2021,” read in the statement released today in Addis Ababa.
For the organization, “increasing intra-African trade can serve as an alternative stimulus package for job creation, exports, industrial development and economic growth”,
According to the director of regional integration and trade at UNECA, Stephen Karingi, quoted in the statement, “the covid-19 proved that African countries can adapt and respond to demand”.
Karingi also said that postponing trade under the new rules “offers a window of opportunity to rethink how the deal can be reconfigured to reflect the new realities and risks of the 21st century, which is necessary to position the African economy in face of future adverse shocks emanating from the new virus and climate change, among others”.
The agreement aims to liberalize trade on the continent and aims to eliminate customs tariffs on 90% of products.
The AfCFTA will allow the creation of the largest market in the world with an accumulated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounting to US $ 2.5 billion (about two billion euros), according to estimates prior to the covid-19 pandemic.
