introduction
The highly anticipated start of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (the Agreement) on January 1, 2021 marked the start of a stronger and more unified African Union. The Agreement aims to strengthen trade within Africa and position Africa as a strong trading bloc at the international level. It will connect 55 markets in Africa and ambitiously hopes to connect all 1.3 billion Africans into a single market. The projected benefits of the Agreement are remarkable and include increasing the African target market from about 1.27 billion to 1.7 billion by 2030. Although the Agreement negotiations have targeted several key areas, it can be summarized as having created three key frameworks: (i) the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is a liberalized market for goods and services made possible by the movement of people; (ii) a Protocol on trade in goods to gradually eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers and to improve the efficiency of customs procedures, trade facilitation and transit in Africa; and (ii) a Protocol on Trade in Services aimed at progressively liberalizing trade in services based on equity, balance and mutual benefit for all member nations. This great deal received significant political support.
The origins
To ensure its successful deployment, the Agreement requires member states to relinquish one level of state sovereignty for the greater good of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The origins of the African Union (AU) and the Charter of the Organization of African Unity underline this, recalling that the AU was created to “promote the unity and solidarity of African countries, defend the sovereignty of members, eradicate all forms of colonialism, promote international cooperation and harmonize the economic, diplomatic, educational, health, social and defense policies of the member states â€. In addition, the agreement will not invalidate existing regional economic communities (RECs). Currently, intra-African trade is concentrated within the RECs, with more than half of intra-African trade taking place in Southern Africa through the Southern African Customs Union. Likewise, the priorities of the East African Community (EAC) for 2017 to 2021 focus on the consolidation of the single customs territory of the EAC, the development of infrastructure in the region, among other priorities. While the Agreement will not interfere with ongoing RECs, it will be necessary to carefully ensure that adequate commitment and resources are given to the Agreement to preserve its integrity and usefulness.
A brief case study from Kenya
Kenya provides a fascinating case study. The EAC member state is currently undergoing its second lockdown due to the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The looming economic distress that will continue due to the impact of COVID-19 cannot be underestimated. The World Bank report estimates that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa is expected to lose up to $ 79 billion in production from 2020 alone. Kenya has an impending national vision called Kenya Vision 2030, launched in 2008, which is a way to accelerate the country’s transformation into a rapidly industrializing middle-income nation by 2030. To achieve this, governments Kenyans have allocated public finances to large infrastructure projects and entered into debt financing agreements with transnational organizations and international governments to fund this vision. Despite the good intentions behind these development projects, the Kenyan government is burdened with an unsustainable national debt ratio and growing demand from citizens to focus on internal affairs. In the midst of this, Kenya is also due to hold general elections next year. The election campaign has historically slowed economic activity in Kenya before and after an election year. Coupled with the pressure on the Kenyan government to lower the cost of living and inspire national confidence in its ability to tackle corruption at the state level, the nation illustrates the reality of competing interests.
The above points of tension are usefully analyzed through the prism of the principles of international law of state sovereignty in relation to collective unification, which implies that the legitimacy and authority of a state are predetermined internally. . There is therefore no external influence that validates a state. When considering what will be needed to ensure the effective implementation of the Agreement, classic principles of international law and examples of other such ambitious agreements, for example the Treaty on European Union, provide insights. helpful guard. On the one hand, state sovereignty creates space for nations to exist and evolve, which allows them to enter into partnerships and multilateral agreements to that end. Conversely, the unification of states requires sovereign states to sacrifice certain elements of their internal interests for the greater collective benefit.
Recently, Kenya has come under immense pressure from the AU member state to justify its independent negotiations with the United States of Africa for its strategic bilateral trade agreements. In particular, it was the first African state to initiate such dialogues with the then Trump administration. On November 3, 2020, Kenya further signed the Kenya-UK Partnership Agreement to continue preserving zero-tariff, zero-quota preferential merchandise trade between the two countries. Kenya’s actions reflect the preservation of state sovereignty through independent bilateral agreements. However, a state protecting its internal concerns need not be a threat to the implementation of the Agreement. Indeed, Kenya has agreed to abide by the Agreement’s requirement that any subsequent bilateral state agreement must uphold the ideals and respect the spirit of the Agreement.
A brief case study from Kenya
While it is indisputable what this deal will mean, history has shown us that centralized economic trade agreements are not invincible, such as Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. The realities of Africa’s and Africans’ multifaceted identities and their unique needs, and the current global moment we find ourselves in due to the effects of COVID-19 are considerable. Various African states are expected to look inward to protect their internal and nationalist interests in the short to medium term. After all, seasons of economic distress have fueled populist sentiments and protectionist governance. This will create tension in the implementation of the Accord which will require a careful balancing of the need for state unification while respecting the authenticity of state sovereignty towards the independent and collective rebound of African economies. while being cautiously optimistic about the overall resilience of the African continent.