The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA, has estimated that African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, has the capacity to expand Africa’s manufacturing output to $930 billion by 2025, from $500 billion in 2016. The Brookings Institution see Africa’s economic size rising to $6.7 trillion by 2030 from $3.4 billion in 2019 on the back of a well-implemented AfCFTA.
The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Toki Mabogunje, stated this at the African continental free trade area: roadmap to a successful implementation on Tuesday in Lagos.
“Estimates by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) revealed that AfCFTA has the capacity to expand Africa’s manufacturing output to $930 billion by 2025, from $500 billion in 2016. The Brookings Institution see Africa’s economic size rising to $6.7 trillion by 2030 from $3.4 billion in 2019 on the back of a well-implemented AfCFTA”, she said.
“AfCFTA has the potential to accelerate socioeconomic development of the African continent. A well-implemented AfCFTA will stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and facilitate the economic diversification of African economies”, she added.
While the take-off of AfCFTA should be lauded, according to her, much work remains to be done as critical parts of the agreement are yet to be finalized. Several Key issues including schedules of tariff concessions, schedules of service commitment, rules of origin, investment, competition policy and intellectual property rights have not been concluded.
“There is still lack of clarity on the type of value addition that must occur within an AfCFTA State party for a product to benefit from tariff reduction. A great deal of sensitization and enlightenment still need to be done on the implementation modalities, and this forms the basis for putting this event together”, she stated.
She revealed that the event was part of the public engagement series of the Lagos Chamber and is aimed at facilitating discussions among stakeholders on the appropriate policy steps that would ensure a speedy and effective implementation of the continental trade agreement.
