African Continent Free Trade Agreement Launches

At midnight the African Continental Free Trade Agreement came into effect, countries involved will have until July to finalise details of the agreement.

The AU Commissioner for trade and industry has heralded the agreement as a ‘bold, pragmatic & continent-wide commitment to economic integration.’

At present only 24 African countries out of 54 have ratified the trade agreement with, Nigeria (Africa’s largest economy) yet to sign up.

The aim of the agreement is to create a single continental market for goods and services where there is free movement of goods, people and investments – similar to what can be seen in the European Union.

The agreement is expected to boost trade in Africa., with the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa estimated the agreement could potentially boost trade by 53%.