AfCFTA Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

29Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business

The African Continental Free Trade Area Investment Protocol signalled a new era in sustainable trade and investment

By Michael Foundethakis, Partner, and Global Head of Project and Trade & Export Finance, Baker McKenzie Paris and Virusha Subban, Partner specialising in Customs and Trade, and Head of Tax, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is predicted to increase Africa's trade income by USD 450 billion by 2035 and will boost intra-African trade by more than 81 percent, according to a recent report by the World Bank. Since the start of trade under AfCFTA in 2021, African countries have been implementing changes to diversify their economies, increase production capacity, and widen the range of products made in Africa. To be able to do so effectively, they must attract sustainable funding and investment. Several countries are now trading under the continenta...

10Jun

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Why choose Mauritius for your cross-border business structuring?

Known by tourists for exquisite beaches, stunning landscapes and for being a multicultural island, Mauritius is considered as a leading country for cross-border business structuring by the international business community. The country’s strong network of strategic Free Trade Agreements contributes to consolidating its leading position as a trade platform between Africa and Asia. What makes Mauritius a global business jurisdiction? What are the advantages of choosing Mauritius for cross-border structuring? By offering numerous benefits to companies that are trying to widen their activities worldwide, Mauritius has help to maintain its status as a global business jurisdiction. Positioned in a strategic location between Asia and Africa has created a key advantage for Mauritius as it is p...

2Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Business, Tanzania News

The impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area on the continent’s mining sector

By Virusha Subban, Partner specialising in Customs and Trade, and Head of Tax, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg Africa is the world's top producer of numerous critical mineral commodities. With the rapid increase in the rate of global energy transition, the continent's mining industry has a role to play in sourcing and supplying these critical minerals for use in clean energy projects, manufacturing capacity, electric vehicles and other sustainable solutions. The continent is a large supplier of bauxite, chromium, cobalt, copper, diamond, gold, iron ore, platinum group metals, lithium, rare earth metals and zinc, for example, with most of them being exported as ores, concentrates or metals. Exporting these critical minerals as raw materials, however, reduces Africa's trading position to one ...

An update on free trade in Africa – the Guided Trade Initiative, regional value chains and measures for sustainable trade

17Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business

An update on free trade in Africa – the Guided Trade Initiative, regional value chains and measures for sustainable trade

By Virusha Subban, Partner Specialising in Customs and Trade and Head of Tax, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg The AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) is the latest development designed to boost trade in the Africa's continent-wide free trade zone. The GTI was launched in October 2022 with the aim of testing meaningful, continuous trade under AfCFTA and to assist in the development of regional value chains that will allow for more climate-friendly, sustainable trade across the continent. The GTI will test AfCFTA's policies, legal framework and operational and institutional environments. There are eight countries participating in the GTI that have all met the minimum requirements in terms of AfCTA's tariff book and rules of origin - Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania ...

21Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Main

Trade finance and the efforts to boost intra-African trade

By Lodewyk Meyer, Partner and Head of the Banking & Finance Practice, and Lucy Stratton, Associate Designate, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg As stated by President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi A. Adesina, "trade finance is an important instrument for influencing Africa's long-term economic development and structural transformation". According to a report by the AfBB and the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim), Trade Finance in Africa: Trends Over the Past Decade and Opportunities Ahead, the region was one of the most integrated with the rest of the world in 2011. However, in the last decade, Africa’s trade growth has been one of the worst among the major regions of the world. This is as a result of a number of factors including falling commodity prices, competition,...

16Nov

By Virusha SubbanNo Comments

Ethiopia News, Guinea News, Main, Mali News

African Growth and Opportunity Act eligibility requirements under review in three African countries

By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg On 2 November 2021, US President Joe Biden announced that three African countries would be terminated from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program, unless they took urgent action to meet statutory eligibility criteria by 1 January 2022. The three countries listed were Guinea, Mali and Ethiopia. The US administration cited unconstitutional changes in governments in Guinea and Mali and human rights violations in Ethiopia, due to conflict in the country, as reasons for the termination. The statement announced the intention to provide all three countries with a clear benchmark and pathway towards reinstatement so that valued trading partnerships could be resumed. AGOA eligibility c...

18Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

Creating a disruption-proof supply chain in Africa

The impact of the pandemic on global supply chains has prompted governments around the world to look at ways to fix the broken links. In Africa, the launch of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), has provided the continent with new opportunities to strengthen its regional supply chain. Virusha Subban, Head of Indirect Tax at Baker McKenzie in South Africa, explains that there were massive breakages in key links in global supply chains during and after the pandemic, with issues including, among many other things, route congestion and blockages, manufacturing shutdowns, a deficit of skilled labour, a global shortage of key logistics components including shipping containers, a lack of space in warehouses, a spike in transportation costs and substantially increased demand for goods a...

17Sep

By Virusha SubbanNo Comments

Main

China’s trade with the continent grows to record highs

By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and Africa increased by 40.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2021, and was valued at a record high of USD 139.1 billion. The Ministry noted that African products were increasingly being recognised in the Chinese market, and that imports from Africa into China increased by 46.3% between January and July 2021. Further, the import of agricultural products, such as rubber, cotton and coffee from Africa into China doubled when compared to the first seven months of 2020. Data from the Ministry further revealed that over the last 20 years, China's trade with Africa has risen 20-fold, showing that China is Africa's biggest bilater...

16Jul

By Pomy KetemaNo Comments

Main

Decentralised finance may be the panacea for filling Africa’s Investment Gap

by Pomy Ketema, Counsel, Baker McKenzie, New York African countries continue to face substantial financing gaps as they take on projects of all sizes in pursuit of development. To tackle the slowdown in foreign direct investment since the onset of the pandemic, some African countries are actively courting their diaspora and looking for pockets of cash-rich businesses around the continent. Each country is on its own development trajectory. However, continental and regional initiatives, such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are being harnessed as broad-based wealth-creation vehicles. The AfCFTA, which took effect on January 1, 2021, aims to create an integrated continental market by reducing trade barriers among its 54 signatory countries. The trading pact is still under ...

22Jun

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Main, Zimbabwe News

Unlocking Sustainable Investment in AFRICA through AIM-AFRICA

AIM AFRICA will be a powerful impetus in strengthening AFRICA’s economic stability, sustainability, and growth. The African continent has immense untapped economic potential that presents innumerable opportunities for investors. The continent is also emerging as one of the preferred destinations for investments. According to data released in 2020 by the United Nations Population Division, 56.2% of the global population now lives in urban areas. This figure is projected to increase to 75 percent by 2050, at a growing rate of 65 million urban dwellers annually. This fact illustrates the degree to which demography will shape the future of Africa. The increase in the population combined with the effects of urbanisation and rising levels of affluence are likely to attract investors into most o...