On March 21, 2018, in Kigali, Rwanda, Africa took the giant step of creating a large and integrated market by establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Because of rules of origin, even if the UK enters into a trade agreement with the EU, UK manufacturers embedded in pan-European supply chains are going to face new bureaucracy and costs, with long-run implications for their continued viability.

When the Brexit transition period ended, new barriers for UK-EU trade were introduced.