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AfCFTA: status, achievements, opportunities and main obstacles to its implementation

Monday, 10 March 2025 15:49

A publication from AfCFTA Dialogues, a platform dedicated to promoting awareness and understanding of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), provides a concise, yet complete analysis of the current status of the AfCFTA implementation in light of the 2023 African Union's (AU) theme on accelerating the implementation of the agreement. After describing the process that led to the AfCFTA adoption, as well as the achievements and opportunities that derive from it, the document maps the key obstacles to its implementation, providing some recommendations to address them.

ISDS clauses in investment agreements drain millions of dollars from African taxpayers

Friday, 07 March 2025 10:14

Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1971 and headquartered in Washington, recently published on its website an alarming paper, issued in December 2024, titled “The Scramble for Africa Continues: Impacts of Investor-State Dispute Settlement on African Countries”. The paper argues that the trend to include in investment agreements a system to resolve disputes with host States known as "Investor-State Dispute Settlement" (ISDS) is costing millions of dollars to African taxpayers.

Will Africa be able to exploit the potential of a globally booming ocean economy?

Tuesday, 04 March 2025 17:53

According to a recent UNCTAD note, the ocean economy has grown globally approximately 2.5 times in the last 3 decades, with a strong acceleration of South-South trade recorded in the latest years between developing countries, despite the high tariffs applied (developing countries apply average tariffs of 14% on their reciprocal exchange of fish products, compared the 3.2% in high-income countries). From 2021 to 2023, fish (primary) exports along the South-South axis rose of 43% (for a total of 19 billion USD), while processed fish exports jumped to 89%, reaching 23 billion USD. Trade in ocean goods and services reached in 2023 record highs of 899 billion USD and 1.3 trillion USD, respectively. This highlights the growing importance of marine activities, especially for coastal and island nations in developing countries, where fisheries alone sustain about 600 million people.

African Diaspora as a catalyst for infrastructure development in Africa

Monday, 03 March 2025 09:55

A report from the Africa Europe Foundation titled “The Missing Connection: Unlocking Sustainable Infrastructure Financing in Africa”, describes the current infrastructure gaps in Africa and the opportunities offered by the Africa-Europe partnership to develop new forms of financing for their development. Launched in South Africa at the 5th Finance in Common Summit (26-28 February), in association with South Africa’s Presidency of the G20, the report concludes that the financial resources that African governments commit every year for the development of infrastructure on the continent are barely sufficient to cover half of the Africa's total infrastructure needs, estimated between 130 and 170 billion dollars per year. In addition, about 35% of these resources comes from both multilateral and bilateral donors, with the World Bank Group and China at the top, which raises doubts about their sustainability in the long period.

Uncertainty over future of AGOA poses a risk to investments in Africa

Tuesday, 25 February 2025 19:06

An interesting article published on Semafor expresses skepticism regarding the future of the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade deal that offers eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the United States (US) market. AGOA operates in an asymmetric way: the US open its market to a certain number of products originating from selected African States, without a similar obligation for beneficiary countries to open their markets to US-originating products. However, access to the AGOA does not come without a price. Beneficiary countries are required to meet a set of strict conditions to qualify to trade under the programme. Among them, there is the requirement to put in place a market-based economy that protects private property rights, to develop an open rules-based trading system, and to minimize government interference in the economy through measures such as price controls, subsidies, and government ownership of economic assets. In addition, beneficiary countries are required to remove any barrier to US trade and investment, to protect internationally recognised human rights, and to adopt mechanisms aimed at combatting corruption and bribery.

News

AfCFTA: status, achievements, opportunities and main obstacles to its implementation

ISDS clauses in investment agreements drain millions of dollars from African taxpayers

Will Africa be able to exploit the potential of a globally booming ocean economy?

African Diaspora as a catalyst for infrastructure development in Africa

Uncertainty over future of AGOA poses a risk to investments in Africa

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