AfCFTA Vital Strategy for Shielding African Economies from External Shocks

Addis Ababa, February 14, 2025 (ENA) --- The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a vital strategy for shielding African economies from external shocks and ensuring continued growth despite global market volatility, Director of the Regional Integration and Trade Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Stephen Karingi remarked.

Karingi said continental trade policy has become clearer following the historic signing of AfCFTA.

In an exclusive interview with PoA, Karingi shared valuable insights on the progress, challenges, and potential of the AfCFTA, highlighting its critical role in shaping Africa's economic future.

“When it comes to trade policy at the continental level, Africa now has a clear direction, because we have on the agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”

For countries like Ethiopia, this agreement provides a clear framework to harmonize trade policies and meet mutual commitments.

However, Karingi pointed out that the major hurdle lies in the pace of implementation at the national level.

While some countries are already benefiting from intra-African trade, others are still in the process of domestically implementing the agreement, meaning their private sectors and citizens have yet to fully benefit.

But this is at the continental level he said, adding Africa does not operate in a vacuum; it is also part of the global trade environment.

This slow implementation is especially concerning given the current global trade uncertainty. Karingi expressed concerns about potential trade wars between major global economies, which could negatively impact Africa's international trade.

The AfCFTA, he stressed, is a vital strategy for shielding African economies from external shocks and ensuring continued growth despite global market volatility.

Moreover, Karingi underscored the enormous potential of intra-African trade, which has long been stifled by regional tariff barriers and trade restrictions on the continent.

With the AfCFTA, these barriers are being dismantled, paving the way for greater integration across the continent.

According to Karingi, the full implementation of AfCFTA could lead to a 45 percent increase in intra-African trade by 2045 compared to a scenario without the agreement.

A key shift will be the increased trade in manufactured goods, moving Africa away from its reliance on raw material imports.

He is very much optimists about the future immense opportunities of this continental agreement.

“I think we are moving in the right direction, but we need to accelerate the pace,” he underlined.