Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, says African countries must reduce intra-trade costs if the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) is to truly benefit the continent.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala made the announcement on Friday, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed its paper on the potential of AFCFTA.
The WTO DG said:
The costs are because of the barriers; trading in Africa is equivalent to 435% tariff.
Unless we can deal with the costs and bring them down, it would be difficult for us to actualize good implementation of AfCFTA.
At the European Union, trade is about 60%, while in ASEAN, it’s about 21%. For us in Africa, it is way up.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala added that AFCFTA is a key instrument to deliver agenda 2063 of the African Union that seeks to bring growth and industrialize the continent.
