Rethinking and Unthinking the AfCFTA: Call for an Integrated Economic and Industrial Policy

Authored By:

F.F. Brace

,

February 15, 2022

With the introduction of the AfCFTA, African states are about to enter a new phase of global trade. The opportunities that the countries involved can exploit to finally grow their economies, whose resources set global trade in motion, appear to be a turning point for Africa’s economic outcome. However, many issues appear to be on the horizon. Politically, uniting 54 countries seems to be no mean feat, given the multitude of ethnicities and languages that characterise each of the African countries. In economic terms, macroeconomic convergence and trade diversification are the main points of analysis. Indeed, the possible introduction of a single African currency clashes, as in the case of the CFA franc, with the different monetary structures of African countries, and the similarity of exported goods would certainly not facilitate an African economy in a global context of high competition. Finally, the issue of the autonomy and independence of African institutions remains an open question.

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