African Trade Policy Centre

ECA urges Africa to push ahead with Continental Free Trade Area

Addis Ababa, 01December 2016 (ECA) – The Africa Trade Forum ended in Addis Ababa Wednesday with the Economic Commission for Africa’s African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) David Luke, urging participants to act on conclusions reached in discussions this week as the continent seeks to meet its October 2017 deadline for the conclusion of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) negotiations

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Britain won’t turn its back on Africa following Brexit – MP Lord Paul Boateng

Addis Ababa, 29 November 2016 (ECA) – Brexit does not mean that the British government will turn its back on Africa, Lord Paul Boateng, a Member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords said Monday.

Speaking at the first ever Africa Trade Week rum which is being hosted by the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, Mr. Boateng said Brexit presents Africa and the UK with an opportunity to “put development at the heart of our trading relationship with Africa in a way frankly that it has not always been in relation to the EPAs, let’s be frank about it”.

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First ever Africa Trade Week Opens in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa, 28 November 2016 (ECA) – The first ever Africa Trade Week opened in Addis Ababa today with the Economic Commission for Africa’s David Luke, urging participants to come up with solutions to unanswered questions about the Continental Free Trade Area. 

Speaking on behalf of Abdalla Hamdok, ECA Acting Executive Secretary Mr. Luke said the CFTA is a bold initiative aiming to bring together 54 African countries with a combined population of more than one billion people and a combined gross domestic product of more than U.S. $3.4 trillion.  

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All set for Africa Trade Week 2016

Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, 25 November 2016 (ECA) – The Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union will at the end of this month host the 2016 Africa Trade Week with a special focus on the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).

Organised by the AU’s Trade and Industry departments in collaboration with the ECA’s Regional Integration and Trade Division, the ATW2016 will put special emphasis on trade facilitation, implementation as well as building productive capacities for industrialization on the continent.

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ATPC and IDEP launch new training program on trade, gender and development

Dakar, 4 November 2016 (ECA) - The first session of the course on Trade, Gender and Development took place in Dakar, Senegal from 31 October to 4 November 2016. 

The course was developed jointly by the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) and the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) of the Economic Commission for Africa.

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Africa Trade Week 2016

The theme of the ATW 2016 is the “Continental Free Trade Area and Trade Facilitation”. Effective implementation of the CFTA can be an important vehicle for increasing intra-African trade, deepening integration and transforming African economies. Continental tariff liberalization is however not enough. Improved trade facilitation will be key to reducing intra-African trade costs and maximizing the gains from the CFTA project.

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Policy brief: Economic Partnership Agreements and the African Continental Free Trade Area

As of June 2016, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) have been concluded – but not signed and ratified – in three (3) African regions, namely the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community and Western Africa. In addition, two (2) interim EPAs – the Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa EPAs – are being provisionally applied by Cameroon since 2014 and Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe since 2012.

Ignoring inclusiveness may jeopardize Africa’s regional integration vision

Nairobi, 22 July 2016 (ECA)– The African Trade Policy Centre of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) this week co-organized with Third World Network Africa (TWN-Africa), a panel discussion on the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and structural economic transformation in Africa, on the side lines of the 14th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

The aim of the event was to engage civil society and other stakeholders in the CFTA process, provide information and exchange views on the expected impacts of the continental trade liberalization initiative.

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