The Politics of Market Integration in Africa: Trade Agreements, Protocols and the Crisis of Implementation

This research paper by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) examines the gap between the signing of regional trade agreements and their actual implementation in Africa. It highlights the 'crisis of implementation' affecting the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and discusses the potential and challenges of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The authors argue for a shift from top-down agreements to a bottom-up, problem-driven approach centered on regional public goods to ensure sustainable economic integration.

• Africa suffers from a 'crisis of implementation' where regional and continental agreements are signed and ratified but fail to produce the intended impact due to weak monitoring, enforcement strategies, and a lack of consequences for non-implementation.
• Regional Economic Communities (RECs), such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have struggled to meet market integration commitments due to nationalistic challenges, political disputes, and weak legal frameworks. Examples include the failure to adopt the ECOWAS Travel Certificate and the presence of approximately 120 security and border checkpoints between Badagry in Nigeria and Elubo in Ghana/Ivory Coast.
• Protectionist policies and arbitrary border closures undermine regional integration. A specific instance occurred in August 2019 when Nigeria closed its borders with Benin and later with Niger, which triggered a reprisal by the Trades Union of Ghana that saw Nigerian shops closed in Ghana.
• The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, signed by 54 out of 55 African countries, aims to create a single continental market. It commits members to eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of goods, with the remaining 10 percent split between sensitive products (7 percent) and an exclusion list (3 percent).
• Successful implementation of the AfCFTA could have significant economic impacts, potentially generating combined consumer and business spending of $6.7 trillion by 2030, based on data from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. The continent's combined GDP is over $2.5 trillion with a population of 1.2 billion.
• The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) proposes a 'bottom-up' approach to integration. Instead of top-down agreements, this method focuses on regional public goods and domestic problems that require cross-border solutions, such as regional energy markets, shared water resources, and pan-African digital infrastructure.

APA

Brown, E. K., & Boateng, G. (2020). The Politics of Market Integration in Africa: Trade Agreements, Protocols and the Crisis of Implementation. African Center for Economic Transformation. https://acetforafrica.org/uncategorized/the-politics-of-market-integration-in-africa-trade-agreements-protocols-and-the-crisis-of-implementation/

Chicago

Brown, Edward K., and George Boateng. The Politics of Market Integration in Africa: Trade Agreements, Protocols and the Crisis of Implementation. African Center for Economic Transformation, 2020. https://acetforafrica.org/uncategorized/the-politics-of-market-integration-in-africa-trade-agreements-protocols-and-the-crisis-of-implementation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brown |first1=Edward K. |last2=Boateng |first2=George |title=The Politics of Market Integration in Africa: Trade Agreements, Protocols and the Crisis of Implementation |publisher=African Center for Economic Transformation |date=17 November 2020 |url=https://acetforafrica.org/uncategorized/the-politics-of-market-integration-in-africa-trade-agreements-protocols-and-the-crisis-of-implementation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brown2020politics, author = {Brown, Edward K. and Boateng, George}, title = {{The Politics of Market Integration in Africa: Trade Agreements, Protocols and the Crisis of Implementation}}, institution = {African Center for Economic Transformation}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://acetforafrica.org/uncategorized/the-politics-of-market-integration-in-africa-trade-agreements-protocols-and-the-crisis-of-implementation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }