Making the AfCFTA work for ‘The Africa We Want’

Abstract

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been touted as an economic and globalization game changer because it has the potential to transform African economies and significantly raise Africa’s share of global trade to position the region as an increasingly dynamic force in the international arena.

However, to realize this potential, African countries must actively carry out complementary structural and policy reforms to foster long-term peace and security, address the supply-side constraints, and mitigate the short-term fiscal adjustment costs of the trade agreement to set the continental trade-integration project on a successful implementation path for a win-win continental trade-integration outcome.

This paper reviews the potential development impact of the AfCFTA and provides a comprehensive analysis of reforms and programs required to ensure the agreement’s successful implementation.

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