The African Continental Free Trade Area: Why is Africa turning to multilateralism?

Marinov, Eduard (2019): The African Continental Free Trade Area: Why is Africa turning to multilateralism? Published in: Journal of Financial and Monetary Economics No. 6/2019 (2020): pp. 213-222.

Abstract

The Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area entered into force on 30 May 2019 and on 9 July all countries on the continent joined it. It marks a significant milestone in the process of African integration which started as soon as the countries on the continent gained their independence. If the massive deal works as hoped, it will connect 1.3 Billion people, create a 3.4 Trillion USD economic bloc, and heat up commerce within the continent itself. The paper aims at tracing the process of economic integration in Africa, discussing the rationale behind Africa’s current efforts to achieve multilateral trade liberalization, analyzing the main features and assessing the potential benefits of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: economic integration theory, developing countries integration, FTA, African economy
• Subjects: F - International Economics > F1 - Trade > F15 - Economic Integration; F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy > F55 - International Institutional Arrangements; N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services > N77 - Africa ; Oceania

References

Abdel Jaber, T. (1971). A review article: The relevance of traditional integration theory to less developed countries. Journal of Common Market Studies 9 (3): pp. 254-267.

Ackerman, F. (2016). Evaluating Trade Treaties – Lessons from TTIP. In: EU Trade Policy at the Crossroads: between Economic Liberalism and Democratic Challenges, OFSE.

African Union. (2019a). Operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area is launched at Niger Summit of the African Union. Press release of the 2019 Niger Summit of the African Union. Available at: https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20190707/operational-phase-african-continental-free-trade-area-launched-niger-summit

African Union (2019b). Report on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), by H.e. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger and Leader on AfCFTA. Assembly/AU/4(XXXII). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ali-Dinar, A.B. (ed). (1995). External Trade, Debt and Resource Flows. Report on the economic and social situation in Africa, ECA, Addis Ababa, pp 25-42.

Balassa, B. (1965). Economic development and integration. Centro De Estudios Monetario Latinoamericanos. Mexico.

Haas, E. B., and P. C. Schmitter. (1964). Economics and differential patterns of political integration: Projections about unity in Latin America. International Organization 18 (4): pp. 705-737.

Hosny, A.S. (2013). Theories of Economic Integration: A Survey of the Economic and Political Literature. International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences 2 (5) May 2013, pp. 133-155

International Monetary Fund. (2018). World Economic Outlook: Challenges to Steady Growth. Washington, October 2018.

Inotai, A. (1991). Regional integration among developing countries, revisited. Policy, Research, and External Affairs Working Paper no. 643. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

ITC. (2019). Trade Map, ITC calculations based on UN COMTRADE Statistics, available at http://www.trademap.org/.

Kalenga, P. (2013). Making the tripartite FTA work: issues and prospects. Tralac Trade Law Centre.

Lipsey, R. G. (1960). The theory of customs unions: A general survey. The Economic Journal 70 (279): pp. 496-513.

Malhasian, E. (1979). Neocolonialism – Economic Activities and Political Objectives. Partizdat, Sofia. (in Bulgarian)

Mathews, K. (2008). Renaissance of Pan-Africanism: The AU and the New Pan-Africanists. In J. Akokpari, A. Ndinga-Muvumba, & T. Murithi. The African Union and its Institutions. Auckland Park: Jacana Media Ltd. рр. 25-41.

Mikesell, R. F. (1965). The theory of common markets as applied to regional arrangements among developing countries. In International Trade Theory in a Developing World, ed. Harrod and Hague. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Mlenga, K. (2012). Assessing the Progress of Africa’s Economic Integration in Light of the Establishment of the African Economic Community. Academia.edu

Shao, G. (2019). What you should know about Africa’s massive, 54-country trade bloc. CNBC – World Economy. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/11/africa-free-trade-what-is-the-afcfta.html

Trade Law Centre (Tralac). (2018). African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) FAQs. Questions & Answers, Issue No. 1/2018.

Trade Law Centre (Tralac). (2019). the African Continental Free Trade Area: A Tralac Guide, 4th Edition, February 2019. West Cape, South Africa.

UN. (2015). World Population Prospects - 2018 Revision, available at https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/.

UNECA. (2010). Assessing Regional Integration in Africa IV. Enhancing Intra-African Trade. Addis Ababa.

UNECA. (2019). The Case for the African Continental Free Trade Area: The AfCFTA, Africa’s trade flows and industrialization. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

World Bank. (2019). World Development Indicators, available at https://databank.worldbank.org, last visited on 24.03.2019.