Recommendation for a standstill on the economic partnership agreements: summary

Abstract

The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) should be the priority for African countries in terms of trade policy. In this regard, there should be a standstill on the economic partnership agreements until the finalization of the CFTA process. At present, 17 African countries have access to the European Union market through an asymmetrical free trade agreement, of which 13 are economic partnership agreements. Most of the remaining countries have relatively unrestricted market access through the EU’s everything but arms initiative for least developed countries (LDCs). The implementation of CFTA before the full implementation of economic partnership agreements would, through enhanced intra-African trade, offset these losses. The majority of the gains would be experienced in industrial goods, supporting Africa’s industrialization objectives.