The Appendix I to the Annex 2 on Rules of Origin of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Protocol on trade in goods states in the notes for completing an AfCFTA certificate of origin that an exporter’s registration number “should” be inserted (this term indicates that it is not mandatory), “where applicable”, in the Box 1 of such certificate. The AfCFTA manual on Rules of Origin, despite mentioning in its introduction that one of its objectives is to provide guidelines on the registration of exporters, does not give any indications about how this process should be conducted. In this situation of confusion, some African countries have introduced a specific “AfCFTA exporter’s registration number” as a condition to apply for an AfCFTA certificate of origin - and therefore as a condition to trade under the AfCFTA - while others allow exporters to use their ordinary exporter’s registration number in the box No 1 of the certificate. Other, again, do not require any exporter’s registration number to be indicated in the form. Which one is the best solution?

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Increasing regional integration is key for Africa’s prosperity, but reducing barriers to trade is not enough for achieving this objective. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been labeled as an historic agreement that sets the stage for the creation of one a single African market for goods and services. However, without free mobility of people, achieving this goal will remain an elusive dream, as described in an article published on the Horn of Africa Bulletin of the Life & Peace Institute (at page 11). In other words, elimination of non-tariff barriers hampering trade in Africa needs to be supported by the free movement of people.

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