Identifying priority products and value chains for standards harmonization in Africa: technical study

Abstract

The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area entered into force on 30 May 2019. The operational phase of the Agreement was launched on 7 July 2019 and tariff dismantlement will begin on 1 July 2020. To date, 54 member States of the African Union have signed the Agreement and 30 of these have deposited official instruments of ratification. Through progressively eliminating tariffs and removing non-tariff barriers on intra-African trade and addressing services-related bottlenecks, the Free Trade Area can address the fragmentation of African economies. This will support the creation of a business environment conducive to value addition and the promotion of intra-African trade, in particular in industrial goods. The present study was prepared in response to the request by ARSO and the Pan-African Quality Infrastructure and its objectives and methodology are detailed in the following paragraphs. These are followed by a presentation of the trade and standards harmonization status of African regional economic communities and an analysis of the most common exports of each community. The following chapters describe the potential export basket for each region, identifying products for which each regional economic community has a comparative advantage in African markets and which therefore offer an opportunity for expanding intra-African trade. Based on this, the final chapters identify priority value chains in the continent, and subsequently priority products for the harmonization of standards.