African Continental Free Trade Area
Also called: AfCFTA · Topic: International Trade: Patterns, Ports and the WTO · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a trade deal among African countries. It aims to remove tariffs (taxes on traded goods) between them. It was launched in 2019, and trading under it began in January 2021. It covers 54 of the 55 African Union members, because Eritrea has not signed. That makes it the largest trade bloc by number of countries. It matters because many African economies depend on selling raw materials to the outside world and trade little with each other.
Example
The AfCFTA secretariat (its head office) is in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on the Gulf of Guinea coast of West Africa.
Don't confuse with
- African Union: a political organisation of 55 African countries. AfCFTA is the trade area set up among almost all of those same members.
Related concepts
- Regional trade blocs
- Mercosur
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
- Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership