Roadmap for the Africa Free Trade Area to be established

Company News of Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Source: goldstreetbusiness.com

2019-07-17

Following the official launch of the five operational instruments to govern the working phase of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement last week, key stakeholders in the sectors of the African Union (AfCFTA), Ghana's export and trade have taken steps to establish a roadmap to maximize the potential benefits of the agreement. commercial policy of local producers of goods and services.

This initiative is under the auspices of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), in collaboration with the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), which brings together representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Trade and Industry. International Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Statistics, Social and Economic Development. Research (ISSER) as well as some trade technocrats.

The roadmap aims to define modalities for Aboriginal-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to harmonize their commercial strategy in order to exploit the benefits and opportunities as well as to identify the main challenges of politics.

The initiative responds to the concerns of some financial and economic badysts, highlighting the potential for economies of scale that make it difficult for a number of small Ghanaian companies to compete with multinationals operating across the continent in terms of costs of production and supply. supply, so the goods they will be supplying in Africa are duty-free.

The awareness seminar is expected to strengthen the potential competitiveness of local businesses before the start of AfCFTA implementation in July 2020, suggesting optimal business strategies for SMEs and examining ways to improve Ghana's trade policy. .

It is important to note that the Commission of the African Union (AU) has produced a report with recommendations aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of small businesses in each country to enable them to compete despite the lack of competition. Savings and the resulting pricing problems.

One of the main proposals of the report is to respond to the interests of small to medium-sized cross-border traders by simplifying the trade regimes applicable to them and aimed at strengthening their commercial activities.

Speaking exclusively with Goldstreet Business, Project Manager at GEPA, Alexandar Dadzawa said that countries that have ratified and signed the agreement are positioning themselves to take advantage of market opportunities and that it was necessary to sensitize local businesses to compete.

"As a government agency whose primary mandate is to promote and expand exports, we see in the continental free trade zone an opportunity for Ghanaian companies to exploit their full potential," she said. he declared.

Context

In Ghana, it is estimated that SMEs contribute over 70% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and account for 92 out of every 100. At the global level, the contribution of small businesses to the growth of national economies is considered important.

The AfCFTA is expected to increase intra-African trade by 60% by the end of 2020, remove tariffs on 90% of goods, liberalize services and tackle goods. other barriers to intra-African trade, such as long delays at border crossings.