The CFTA in a changing trade landscape

The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) is being negotiated in an evolving trade landscape. The multilateral trading system is in crisis after the failure of the Doha Round and populist anti-globalization sentiments in several large trading nations. The rapid rise of emerging market economies has caused a fundamental shift in the trade patterns of many African countries. The controversies surrounding the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and Brexit require new thinking on restructuring trade relations with Europe. Africa’s trading relationship with the United States, having developed under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), is likely to transform into reciprocal arrangements by 2025 in a post- AGOA agenda. The so-called “mega-regional” trade agreements that once threatened Africa’s preferential trade with established partners, now have evolved into a different threat of protectionism. Finally, new modes of trade such as e-commerce are putting pressure on demands for new trade rules.

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