In this episode of #3Blokes, Jason and I meet up with Adam again (standing in for Ciaran) and travel down to Southampton to discuss the impact of #Brexit on the UK's largest vehicle port. ... we also touch upon the utter ridiculousness of Theresa May's grand trade embassy to Africa... to secure a deal which emulates EXACTLY the one we have via the EU ...

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been signed by 44 African countries at a summit of the African Union in Kigali, Rwanda. / 10 of the African Union's (AU) 55 member states did not sign the agreement.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is launching a campaign to have all countries of the ECCAS sub-regional bloc operationalize the ECCAS Preferential Tariff (known for short in French as TP/CEEAC) – one of the instruments for easing trade in the zone.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) entered into force on May 30, 2019, with the first phase of the deal taking effect for 24 countries. An extraordinary summit on the trade agreement is planned for July 7, 2019 in Niamey, Niger, while Phase II negotiations on intellectual property rights (IPRs), investment and competition policy are expected to take at least another year.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was finally signed on the 5th of December 2020 by 54 out of 55 African Union member states, heralding the start of a new era of improved trade governance as intra-continental trade is boosted and African trade arrangements across regional economic communities are harmonised.

The African Union, comprised of 55 Member States, has prioritized enhancing regional integration and development, and in 2016 decided to move towards a “borderless” Africa with seamless intracontinental migration.

Regional integration in Africa has made tremendous strides. But the work is not done.

Following the unveiling of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in Kigali, Rwanda, in March 2018, Africa is about to become the world’s largest free trade area: 55 countries merging into a single market of 1.2 billion people with a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion. In this edition, we examine the benefits and challenges of a free trade area for countries and individual traders.

Africa is trading - just not within the continent. The African Union wants to change this and launch the world's largest free trade area. The plan has potential, but some member states are keeping the AU in suspense.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the key priorities of Africa´s Agenda 2063 and a flagship project for the continent. Signed by 49 African countries and ratified by 14 countries so far, it needs 8 more ratifications to enter into force.

The largest free-trade in the world, spanning the African continent with its 1.2 billion people, has come into effect, aiming to eradicate tariffs and create single market for a potential market worth $2.5 trillion.

The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade areas, customs unions, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency.

AFRICAN countries officially began trading under a new continent-wide free trade area last Friday.

The African Medicines Agency (AMA) is a proposed specialised agency of the African Union (AU) intended to facilitate the harmonisation of medical regulation throughout the African Union. Following a similar model to that of the European Medicines Agency, it is intended to have a wide scope covering medicines, traditional medicine, and medical devices.

The African Monetary Union is the proposed creation of an economic and monetary union for the countries of the African Union, administered by the African Central Bank. Such a union would call for the creation of a new unified currency, similar to the euro.

For an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. Official page of the AU.

The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).

African Union law is the body of law comprising treaties, resolutions and decisions that have direct and indirect application to the member States of the African Union (AU).

“It goes without saying that the most emblematic of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063 is the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA. The AfCFTA has the ambition…… in the final analysis, to establish a continental market. The idea goes back to 1963, with the establishment of an African Economic Community.”

It’s the second year of business on Africa’s biggest trading platform – the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) - and it isn’t going to be business as usual in the continent’s single biggest trading bloc.

After months of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Continental Free Trade Area launches, but full implementation of the historic pact may take years.

"We, the people of Africa and her Diaspora, united in diversity, young and old, men and women, girls and boys from all walks of life, deeply conscious of history, express our deep appreciation to all generations of Pan-Africanists. ... Agenda 2063, rooted in Pan Africanism ... a robust framework for addressing past injustices and the realisation of the 21st Century as the African Century."

The African Continental Free Trade Area will enter into force during the next African Union Summit slated for Niamey, Niger, in July, the East African reported on Tuesday.

A no-deal Brexit would limit access to the EU and entry to markets in Africa could damage profits.

As Britain prepares to leave the European Union, workers in Kenya's flower industry are closely monitoring developments.

Figures seen by Sky News show how firms are recruiting outside Europe to secure the skills they need, with India in particular providing staff to fill key vacancies.

There was spontaneous applause as Africa’s largest economy Nigeria signed up to a deal that experts say could provide far-reaching benefits, but only if it is implemented properly.

The basic premise of this book is that regional integration in Africa offers great promise in addressing endemic poverty and in advancing Africa’s integration in the global economy.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a free trade area with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981.

"COMESA (as defined by its Treaty) was established ‘as an organisation of free independent sovereign states which have agreed to co-operate in developing their natural and human resources for the good of all their people’ and as such it has a wide-ranging series of objectives which necessarily include in its priorities the promotion of peace and security in the region."

The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. It is a high ambition trade agreement, with a comprehensive scope that includes critical areas of Africa’s economy, such as digital trade and investment protection, amongst other areas.

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)

More than 15,000 direct and indirect jobs are currently being affected negatively due to the failure of Ghana and UK to sign a post Brexit trade agreement that allows Ghanaian fruit producers’ tariff free access to the UK market as exists under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

The entry of DR Congo into the East African Community bloc will be a game changer. This is one of the sentiments from regional experts who say the country has immense resources vital to grow intra African trade within the EAC.

The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organization composed of six countries in the African Great Lakes region in eastern Africa: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

he East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of six (6) Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The Common Market is the second Regional Integration milestone of the East African Community (EAC), which has been in force since 2010, in line with the provisions of the EAC Treaty. It follows the Customs Union, which became fully-fledged in January 2010.

The Customs Union is the first Regional Integration milestone and critical foundation of the East African Community (EAC), which has been in force since 2005, as defined in Article 75 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.

The East African Monetary Union (EAMU) is an important stage in the process of East African Community (EAC) Regional Integration.

The Political Federation is the ultimate goal of the EAC Regional Integration, the fourth step after the Customs Union, Common Market and Monetary Union. ... founded on three pillars: common foreign and security policies, good governance and effective implementation of the prior stages of Regional Integration.

The five countries in East African Community are pushing to eliminate their borders to enhance an integrated trading block. However, many challenges have to be overcome before making this a reality as CNBC Africa's Beatrice Gachenge discovered.

The East African Court of Justice (the Court), is one of the organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.

The East African Federation is a proposed political union of the six sovereign states of the East African Community – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda – as a single federated sovereign state. In September 2018 a committee was formed to begin the process of drafting a regional constitution

In September 2018, the East African Community appointed a twelve member Committee of Experts to begin drafting a new constitution for an East African Confederation as a step towards full federation.

The East African Legislative Assembly (Assembly) is an organ of the East African Community; established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community.

A regional integration process of 10 central Africa nations.

In this work, Richard E. Mshomba offers an in-depth analysis of economic integration in Africa with a focus on the East African Community (EAC), arguably the most ambitious of all the regional economic blocs currently in existence in Africa.

In May 1979, ECOWAS member States adopted their first protocol relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment. It stipulated the right of ECOWAS citizens to enter, reside and establish economic activities in the territory of other member states and offers a three step roadmap of five years each to achieve freedom of movement of persons after fifteen years.

The ECOWAS Parliament also requested the authority of heads of state and government to take a firm stand regarding compliance with the 2020 deadline for the establishment of the ECOWAS single currency.

The launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is expected later this week, while the 15 ECOWAS countries, adopted ‘ECO’ as the name of the region’s planned shared currency, and agreed for a flexible currency regime towards improving integration and trade in the region.

he Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) have agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields including security, trade liberalisation and investments, human development and political governance.

Kenya and the European Union have signed a long-negotiated trade agreement to increase the flow of goods between the two markets, as Brussels pursues stronger economic ties with Africa.

"The Regulation defines a harmonized legal and tariff framework for roaming on public mobile communication networks within ECOWAS Member States and will solve the problem of high cost of roaming services in the region through the elimination or reduction of call tariffs, SMS charges and data costs, among others."

‘People in Ghana are very angry. They do not understand why Britain is acting like a bully’

Stephen Delahunty reports on a lawsuit being brought before for the courts to consider the legality of the UK-Morocco Association Agreement

The UK’s science community is urging the prime minister, Boris Johnson, to match funding to rhetoric, as arguments continue over where the budget for the UK’s association to the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme will come from.

Lack of time, an election and regional trade tensions have made agreeing a deal tricky.

The government has been warned to abandon its proposed tariff-free quota for raw cane sugar imports because of its potential to undercut UK growers.

The decision to establish an African Medicines Agency is hailed as a turning point in efforts to advance regulatory oversight but also draws calls for caution. John Zarocostas reports.

"The African Union is a geo-political entity covering the entirety of the African continent. Its origin dates back to the First Congress of Independence African States, held in Accra, Ghana, from 15 to 22 April 1958."

This article, circulated widely on social media at the time of the referendum, claimed in error that EU tariffs starve African farmers. Since then it has been updated with an errata explaining its stated facts and conclusion are wrong. No tariffs are paid except on weapons. / NOTE: This article has now been removed from CAPX. We've linked to a copy from the WayBackMachine web archive.]

The African Union (AU) has adopted a Free Movement Protocol and a draft plan of action to go with it.

Hungary will sign a trade and development deal between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific states after it was promised amendments it sought, the Central European country's foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.

Liz Truss urged to sign off deals quickly to spare African states high tariffs once Brexit transition period ends.

African leaders met on Sunday to launch a continental free-trade zone that if successful would unite 1.3 billion people, create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development.

It is increasingly evident that leaving the European Union — the world’s richest single market — was a monumental act of self-harm for the UK. African countries should take heed and cooperate to ensure the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The European Union – African Union Summit, which is taking place today, is an important milestone. European and African leaders must underline that we depend on each other. A prosperous African future is a prosperous European future, writes a coalition of MEPs.

German chancellor also shares views on Brexit and climate crisis in interview. / Europe must reposition itself to stand up to the challenges posed by its three big global rivals, China, Russia and the US, Angela Merkel has said before her final European election as German chancellor.

After four years of talks, African leaders announced an agreement to form a 55-nation trade bloc.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is one of the organs of the African Union (AU) as set out by the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja Treaty). The Parliament is intended as a platform for people from all African states to be involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent.

For the first time EASA is managing a technical cooperation project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the region itself. / "The region has embarked on the adoption of EU-based rules, which will facilitate not only regional integration, but also the process of keeping the rules up-to-date and in compliance with international standards."

The prospect of the UK formulating its own trade policy following Brexit is likely to have implications for the existing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, and the UK’s future trading arrangements with the ACP.

The African Union, or AU, is a pan-African organisation whose goal is to propel a united continent towards peace and prosperity.

"The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa group together individual countries in subregions for the purposes of achieving greater economic integration."

Rwandan president Paul Kagame says the African Union could become a strong body as the European Union despite well documented hurdles.

Back in 1999, under what is known as the Yamoussoukro Decision, African countries planned to free their skies for air travel. Last Sunday the African Union (AU) took its first big step towards this goal, launching the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was established as a development coordinating conference (SADCC) in 1980 and transformed into a development community in 1992.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a Regional Economic Community comprising 16 Member States. Established in 1992, SADC is committed to Regional Integration and poverty eradication within Southern Africa through economic development and ensuring peace and security.

Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment (AU Free Movement Protocol) adopted in 2018.

The Africa-EU Partnership is the formal channel through which the European Union and the African continent work together. It is based on the Joint Africa-EU Strategy adopted by Heads of State and Government at the second EU-Africa Summit in 2007.

Developments in sugar exports of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. / The United Kingdom (UK), the main European importer of sugar from ACP countries, decided to leave the EU in March 2019. How will Brexit affect the ACP countries, given the already ongoing changes in the EU sugar market?

85% of world is joining trading blocs... as we decide to leave

The United Kingdom vote in June 2016 to leave the European Union will have major implications for developing economies, according to a report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Least developed countries (LDCs) will be particularly affected, mostly via reduced exports and lower aid values.

But while free trade is under threat in much of the world, African countries are heading in the other direction: the continent is on track to create the largest free trade agreement by population that the world has seen since the 1995 creation of the World Trade Organization.

Volume 2 - Proceedings of the First Congress of African Economists / Les Actes du Premier Congrès des Économistes Africains.

Trade and investment relations with Africa are increasingly important to the European Union’s strategic goals

Smart Africa’s vision is to transform Africa into a single digital market through a number of carefully selected interventions within the field of ICT and leverage the continental economies of scale, as Africa seeks to develop further.

UK tariffs on exports from Ghana were effected today due to Brexit. While both countries try to work out a trade deal, George Kporye, Corporate affairs manager of banana exporting firm, Golden Exotics tells me how the business is being affected.

Ministers accused of pressure on developing nations to 'sign up blind’ – without knowing if rollover deals will prove to be second-rate.

As many as 15 countries in West Africa have agreed to adopt a single currency, called ECO, next year.

Fifteen countries in West Africa have agreed to adopt a single currency next year called the eco.

As part of its plans to make Africa a more integrated continent, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have adopted the name 'ECO' for a planned single currency to be used in the region.

A CAMPAIGN group backing independence in Western Sahara is to take the UK Government to court over a post-Brexit trade agreement with Morocco.

What progress is Africa's free trade pact making in eliminating barriers to trade, deepening economic integration and driving forward the continent's development?

Liz Truss under pressure to explain why punishing levies being charged - despite announcement that UK-Ghana deal was struck.