Dr Ify Ogo shares her top reads on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
On January 1st 2021, Africa started trading as one bloc under the AfCFTA. We asked Dr Ogo to lend her support to knowledge sharing on African trade by recommending her top reports and articles on the AfCFTA.
Dr. Ify Ogo is a trade specialist and legal economist working as the Regional Coordination Specialist on the AfCFTA at UNDP. Previously, she worked at the African Trade Policy Centre, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), where she led the trade in services work STREAM. Dr Ogo also supported the AfCFTA negotiations, as well as country-level implementation processes. Prior to working at the ECA, Dr Ogo worked as an investment advisor in the private and public sectors.
Below are her recommendations. Enjoy and give it a like!
Recovery from the Economic Impacts of the COVID - 19 Pandemic in Africa: What Role for Trade?
By Ify Ogo and Beatrice Chaytor (2020)
The article stresses the importance of why trade-related considerations should be accounted for in the measures for palliation, recovery and resilience at national and regional levels. We take note of the following considerations: (i) repositioning African countries in regional and global value chains, (ii) prioritising health services in the first round of AfCFTA services negotiations, (iii)promoting cross-border digital trade in services and (iv) leveraging the AfCFTA for economic recovery and resilience.
Image credit: Tralac
The Futures Report: Making the AfCFTA Work for Women and Youth
By The AfCFTA Secretariat and the UNDP (2020)
This report presents opportunities in the AfCFTA, as pursued by women and youth entrepreneurs and business owners, and discusses ongoing efforts by Governments and development institutions to ensure that these groups derive maximum benefit from the Agreement. We take note of the benefits expected from the AfCFTA: (i) production revolution across Africa, (ii) creating jobs, (iii) rising incomes and (iv) lifting more and more people out of poverty.
Assessing Regional Integration in Africa IX
By African Development Bank, African Union Commission and UN, Economic Commission for Africa (2019)
The report recognises the signing of the AfCFTA Agreement on 21 March 2018 marked a momentous milestone for regional integration in Africa. We are reminded that trade-related infrastructure for pursuing the opportunities of the AfCFTA can be supported through: (1) effective implementation of the Programme for Infrastructure development in Africa and (2) strategic logistics management to align trade facilitation with infrastructure development.
Realising the One African Services Market through the AfCFTA
By Ify Ogo (2021)
For a quick read, check out this blog post. The blog highlights that the creation of the One African Market for goods is a long-term endeavour, for services, progressive liberalisation is envisaged through successive rounds of negotiation’, with substantial liberalisation as the stated threshold.
Image credit: Tralac
An Agenda for the AfCFTA Protocol on E-Commerce
By Ify Ogo (2020)
The blog notes the inclusion of e-commerce Protocol in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and how it will be integrated through a third phase of negotiations. Four main categories are highlighted that are used to organise issues related to e-commerce in trade agreements: (i) enabling issues, (ii) facilitation, (iii) rules and regulations and (iv) market access.
Image credit: Tralac