The AfCFTA

This research paper describes the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a treaty designed to create a single market for goods and services across Africa to drive industrial development and poverty reduction.

• The AfCFTA is a free trade agreement treaty that establishes a single market for goods and services encompassing nearly 1.5 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$2.7 trillion as of 2023. If fully implemented, it would be the largest trade agreement since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established in 1995.
• Unlike traditional trade agreements that focus solely on goods, the AfCFTA covers a broader range of trade-related disciplines, including electronic commerce, investment, competition policy, intellectual property rights, dispute settlement, and trade in services.
• The AfCFTA aims to stimulate growth and sustainable development by eliminating non-tariff barriers and tariffs, beginning with the removal of tariffs on 90% of goods. A study by the Trade and Law Centre (tralac) indicated that reducing the time required to move goods across borders by 20% would provide more economic benefit to Africa than the total removal of import tariffs.
• The agreement serves as a roadmap for Africa's development with the goals of reducing poverty, increasing the continent's competitiveness in global value chains, and developing regional value chains to expand both extra-trade and intra-trade.
• The AfCFTA was announced by the African Union (AU) in 2012, opened for signature on March 21, 2018, and came into force on May 30, 2019, after 24 of the 55 AU member states ratified it. Implementation is coordinated by the AfCFTA secretariat, an autonomous body within the AU, as part of the AU's Agenda 2063.

APA

Chipanda, B., & Cilliers, J. (2026). The AfCFTA. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=06-afcfta

Chicago

Chipanda, Blessing, and Jakkie Cilliers. The AfCFTA. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=06-afcfta.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chipanda |first1=Blessing |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=The AfCFTA |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=29 March 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=06-afcfta |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chipanda2026afcfta, author = {Chipanda, Blessing and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{The AfCFTA}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=06-afcfta}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }