Tripartite deal sets deadline for Africa

CAN Africa forge a Free Trade Common Market by 2017? This is the high benchmark that the African Union has set for itself – a most ambitious plan, the experts say.

The reality is that regional trade agreements have taken much longer – the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement that was launched this week in Sharm el-Sheikh has been five years in the making, and the Southern African Development Community Trade Protocol took eight years. This is not to mention the length of time it took to establish the EU of 28 countries, compared to Africa’s 54.

The message the AU is sending is that the continent needs to speed up economic integration if it is to create economies of scale that can compete effectively on a global scale. There is a long way to go, considering that inter-regional trade is currently at 12 percent.

Tight deadlines are what is needed if Africa is going to achieve the kind of development it needs to eradicate poverty.

The building blocks for the creation of an African common market are major free trade agreements such as the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement that was signed this week by three regional economic communities – the SADC, Comesa and the EAC.

The agreement involves 26 countries with a combined population of 650 million, and a combined GDP of $1 trillion.

In 2014, more than $100 billion in goods passed between members of the three blocs – a threefold increase from a decade ago.

Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies spoke to Independent Media from Sharm el-Sheikh this week, fresh from signing the legal text establishing the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement.

“Our approach is development integration, of which market integration is one part,” Davies said.

“The Tripartite Free Trade Agreement has a strict time frame for conclusion and we plan to conclude the tariff schedule within a year. The trade in services negotiations will commence in January 2016.”