Nigeria is the latest signatory to the AfCFTA. The trade agreement is viewed as Africa’s most ambitious integration agenda, to stimulate economic growth and create jobs by removing trade barriers.
The free trade agreement has 54 member countries making it the largest free trade area since the creation of the World Trade Organization.
The agreement was brokered by the African Union (AU) and was signed on by 44 of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018.
The agreement initially requires members to remove tariffs from 90% of goods, allowing free access to commodities, goods, and services across the continent.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimates that the agreement will boost intra-African trade by 52 percent by 2022. The proposal was set to come into force 30 days after ratification by 22 of the signatory states.
On April 2, 2019, The Gambia became the 22nd state to ratify the agreement, and on April 29 the Saharawi Republic made the 22nd deposit of instruments of ratification; the agreement went into force on May 30 and entered its operational phase following a summit on July 7, 2019
Click the link to African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) learn more.
