The African Union Commission for Trade and Industry said twenty eight of the fifty five African Union member states have ratified and deposited the ratifications of the African continental free trade area with the AU.
This is happening in the ongoing 33rd AU summit holding at the Union’s headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry Muchanga Albert says more countries are expected to deposit instruments of ratifications during the summit, indicating that things are going in the right direction.
At present, the AU is working on establishing rules on the origin of product, non-tariff barrier monitoring and trade tariff reduction schedule to ensure the timely launch of trade on the continent.
In terms of numbers of participating countries, the AfCFTA will be the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization.
