ECA and TradeMark East Africa partner towards the implementation of AfCFTA

Abstract

In an effort to accelerate the implementation of the AfCFTA, Trademark East Africa and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) signed in June 2019 a Memorandum of Understanding, which provides the two parties with the framework to collaborate, with the aim of paving the way for stronger cooperation in helping countries increase their levels of intra-regional trade and investments. During the meeting, Andrew Mold, Acting Director of ECA in Eastern Africa explained the ambitious nature of the AfCFTA, saying that AfCFTA is not, as its name denotes, simply a 'free trade area'. "It encompasses ambitions to proceed to a single unified continental market", he said. Mold stressed that the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers and harmonization of standards called for under the AfCFTA represent a unique opportunity to boost intraregional trade and investment, allowing companies and farmers to tap into rapidly growing markets of Africa. Trade Mark East Africa is an East African not-for-profit company established in 2010 to support the growth of trade - both regional and international - in East Africa. Trade Mark East Africa is focused on ensuring gains from trade result in tangible gains for East Africans. ECA is one of the United Nations' five regional commissions and the regional development arm of the United Nations in Africa. ECA's mission is to deliver ideas and actions for an empowered and transformed Africa; informed by the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063. The work of ECA is centered on the Commission's three core functions, namely, its convening function, its function as a think tank and its operational function.