81280912-Support to the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the African Union"s (AU) flagship projects for implementation of its 2063 Agenda, which is supported by the action plan on Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT). AfCFTA is viewed as a means for achieving the overarching BIAT goals. It is expected that, with the introduction of the free trade zone, intra-African trade will be 15% to 25% higher in 2040 (UNECA). The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement is currently signed by 54 of the 55 African Union Member States (MS) and became effective under international law in May 2019. Since that time, 36 countries have deposited their instruments of ratification with the AU (so called "AfCFTA States Parties"; as of March 2021). The AfCFTA creates an internal African market for 1.3 billion people and is the largest Free Trade Area since the creation of the WTO in terms of signature countries. Despite the progress, it should be noted that the African Union Commission (AUC), the AfCFTA Secretariat and Member States currently do not have sufficient capacity to successfully realize the AfCFTA. More political will and resources are needed to further negotiate and also implement the agreement on the national level. The necessary institutional and legal frameworks for realizing AfCFTA at continental level as well as at the level of regional economic communities and the States Parties remain weak. Furthermore, the design of the agreement is a major challenge in view of the heterogeneity of the AfCFTA States Parties with regard to size, income level and the openness of their economies. Experience from the first negotiation phase shows that the negotiations are difficult and time-consuming, and that complex analysis and coordination processes are necessary both in and between the countries. The GIZ African Continental Free Trade Area programme aims to improve the framework conditions for the AfCFTA. To achieve that the programme follows a multilevel approach on the continental, regional and national level. The programme supports the African Union, specifically the Department for Economic Development, Trade, Industry, Mining (ETIM) and the AfCFTA Secretariat at the continental level in the ongoing negotiations on the AfCFTA and in the implementation of the agreement. On the regional level the programme cooperates with Regional Economic Communities (RECs), specifically EAC (East African Community) and ECOWAS (Economic Community for West African States). The programme also supports Member States (mainly Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, Tunisia) by working with national institutions like trade ministries and customs to implement the agreement. The AfCFTA programme is supporting AfCFTA Secretariat and the AUC Department for Economic Development, Trade, Industry, Mining in five intervention areas aligned to five respective programme outputs: Institutional development, trade in services, trade in goods, phase 2 & 3 topics (investment, competition policy, digital trade) as well as inclusivity, sustainability issues and stakeholder engagement.