The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), signed by 54 of the 55 African countries, seeks to achieve the objective of a continental single market. As of April 2023, 47 member states had ratified the Agreement. Significant progress has been registered on the negotiations across Phase I (Trade in Goods and Services and dispute settlement) and the recent finalisation of Phase II (Competition Policy, Investment and Intellectual Property Rights protocols), and their subsequent adoption by the 36^th Africa Union Summit of Heads of State and Government (Ho/SG) on the 19^th of February 2023, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The negotiations on the Protocols on Women and Youth in Trade, and the Digital Trade, are envisaged to come on-stream in 2023, with plans to conclude them during the course of the year.

This landmark Agreement offers significant promise for the continent’s transformation, and   will open up new economies of scale and create stronger foundations for economic diversification. The AfCFTA is expected to boost intra-African trade, to promote structural transformation and to generate significant employment opportunities in Africa, especially for women and young people. Despite the high political momentum and the strong economic rationale, realising the AfCFTA will require strengthening institutional capacities to complete negotiations and to implement the Agreement, with the active involvement of the private sector and effective cooperation between stakeholders at continental, regional and national level.

The AfCTA Agreement provides for State Parties to take measures to remedy unfair competition practices such as dumping and subsidies as well safeguard measures to respond to unexpected surges in imports that cause or threaten to cause material or serious injury to their domestic industry.

Trade remedies are governed by Annex 9 to the Protocol on Trade in Goods which should be complemented by Guidelines for its implementation. These texts provide for the applicable rules and the procedures for the investigations by the national authorities.

Important work has been done under the auspices of the Technical Working Group on Trade Remedies to finalise Annex 9 to the Protocol on Trade in Goods and to bring the draft guidelines for the implementation of trade remedies to the level of legal scrubbing. The Sub-Committee on Trade Remedies have put the finalisation of the guidelines on top of its priorities which shall be concluded in 2023 with the support of the Secretariat (Trade Remedies Division). 

However, with only the Head of Trade Remedies Division recruited, the Secretariat lack human resources to deliver its mandate in this area and to expedite the conclusion of the negotiations on the guidelines.

Furthermore, the African Union member State differ in their level of legal and institutional readiness and capacities in implementation of trade remedies measures. Only limited countries and RECs are investigating and imposing trade remedies measures. There is therefore important need for technical assistance and capacity building for the member States.

Description of the TE TAF

The Team Europe Technical Assistance Facility to support the AfCFTA and Continental Economic Integration (TE TAF) seeks to contribute to the African economic Integration agenda through mainly the realisation of the AfCFTA. It has two specific objectives: (1). Secretariat – with focus on strengthening the institutional capacity to coordinate negotiations, as well as provide oversight on the implementation of the Agreement, and (2). to be an efficient, reactive and flexible mechanism to answer to the needs of the African Union (AfCFTA Secretariat, AUC and some AU Specialized agencies), RECs, AU Member States and other potential continental partners and regional private sector organisations, working on fostering the AfCFTA and economic continental integration.

Funded by the EU, Agence Française de Development, the German Ministry of Development Cooperation (BMZ) and Sweden, the Team Europe Technical Assistance Facility will be implemented by GIZ, Expertise France, and FIAPP under the guidance of the AfCFTA Secretariat. The TE – TAF is implemented through the Project Management Unit (PMU), based at the AfCFTA Secretariat, in Accra, Ghana, whose mandate is to mobilize technical assistance to deliver interventions that foster to enhance implementation of the agreement. Each implementing partner agency (Expertise France, GIZ and FIIAPP) is represented in the PMU.