On June 1, 2023 during the second Ministerial Retreat of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers, held in Nairobi, Kenya, a decision was adopted that prevents second-hand clothes from being traded across the continent under the preferences of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The purpose of this measure is to exclude second-hand clothes from preferential trade under the AfCFTA rules (i.e., in exemption of customs duties), so to encourage value-addition and industrialisation in Africa.

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This is the first review since Liberia accessed to the World Trade Organization (WTO), on 14 July 2016. All the WTO members have their trade policy reviewed by the Organization, the frequency of which varies depending on a country’s share of world trade in goods and services. Reviews highlight the extent to each WTO member implements basic WTO principles concerning: (i) transparency of trade policies; (ii) non-discrimination in treatment of trading partners; (iii) degree of stability and predictability of trade policies; (iv) pattern of protection and extent to which tariffs only are used as measures of protection in trade in goods; (iv) restrictions used in trade in services; (v) record of adherence to the multilateral trading system, and participation in dispute settlement. Trade Policy Reviews are based on two documents: a report prepared independently by the WTO Secretariat and a policy statement by the Member under review. The report by the secretariat typically covers: (i) the economic environment, such as trade patterns and evolution of foreign investment; (ii) the institutional framework, including domestic policies and participation in trade agreements; (iii) trade policies and practices by measure (e.g. customs procedures, licensing, anti-dumping, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), subsidies, etc.); and (iv) trade policies and practices by sector, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, manufacturing, services etc.

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