The Gambia became the last African country on April 4 to ratify the agreement on the Continental Free Trade Area (FTAA). Banjul brings to 22 the number of countries that have ratified the Convention which, therefore, and on paper, comes into force.
The next meeting of the African Union will have to take note, unless we are surprised. In the meantime, the ministries of commerce and the specialized bodies continue to negotiate certain aspects related in particular to the rules of origin and the numerous non-tariff barriers between countries of the continent.
Hello As a reminder, this free trade agreement, starting point of the vision 2063 of the African Union, was signed in March 2018 in Kigali on the sidelines of the summit of the African Union. Today, half of the 44 signatories have taken the necessary steps to have the agreement ratified by their respective parliaments according to the procedures provided for this purpose.
The optimism surrounding this big leap forward is a bit marred by the hesitations of some major economies on the continent. Case of Nigeria which has not yet signed the text or of South Africa which
signed it after many hesitations without indicating a real desire to go towards ratification.
