Impact of Regional/Preferential Trade Agreements

This research paper discusses the role and impact of regional and preferential trade agreements (RTAs/PTAs), focusing on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as the world's largest free trade area by membership.

• The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is the largest free trade area globally in terms of membership, comprising 55 African countries and eight regional economic communities (RECs).
• The AfCFTA is intended to assist African nations in implementing domestic reforms and opening their economies to competitive market pressures at a sustainable rate, which facilitates their integration into the global economy and supports the multilateral process of trade openness.
• Economic welfare gains from preferential trade agreements occur when resources move to more productive uses and consumer prices decrease. Specifically, 'trade creation' occurs when production shifts from inefficient domestic providers to efficient members of the agreement.
• Preferential trade agreements can lead to welfare losses through 'trade diversion,' which happens when imports shift from the most efficient global supplier to a country receiving preferential treatment, resulting in production inefficiencies.

APA

Chipanda, B., & Cilliers, J. (2026). Impact of Regional/Preferential Trade Agreements. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=02-impact-of-regional-trade-agreements

Chicago

Chipanda, Blessing, and Jakkie Cilliers. Impact of Regional/Preferential Trade Agreements. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=02-impact-of-regional-trade-agreements.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chipanda |first1=Blessing |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=Impact of Regional/Preferential Trade Agreements |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=29 March 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=02-impact-of-regional-trade-agreements |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chipanda2026impact, author = {Chipanda, Blessing and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{Impact of Regional/Preferential Trade Agreements}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=08-afcfta&topic=02-impact-of-regional-trade-agreements}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }