By doing so, say supporters of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), business between African nations will boom. Talks on free trade began back in 2002, culminating in a deal that in late May crossed the threshold of ratification by at least 22 countries. AfCFTA fans claim this slender intra-African trade could be boosted by 60 per cent within a few years but others caution that benefits on this scale will take far longer to achieve. The average tariffs on intra-African trade, of 6.1 percent, are higher than on exports to non-African countries. This discrepancy is cited as a reason why intra-African trade is so low.

Source: The Express Tribune July 05, 2019 09:45 UTC