Analysis

The Analysis Section of Afronomicslaw.org publishes two types of content on issues of international economic law and public international law, and related subject matter, relating to Africa and the Global South. First, individual blog submissions which readers are encouraged to submit for consideration. Second, feature symposia, on discrete themes and book reviews that fall within the scope of the subject matter focus of Afronomicslaw.org. 

Trade Remedies in Africa: Taking Stock and Considerations for Newbies in the Game

The utility of trade remedy measures has been questioned, particularly due to their negative impact on the domestic market. This is particularly so because the price effect these measures have is primarily borne by consumers in the domestic market. Where the targeted products are intermediate or capital products, increased prices would adversely impact industrialization and development by the imposing country. Thus trade remedy measures may have counterintuitive consequences.

Expanding intra-African Trade through Market Governance Tools

The creation of a single continental unit is meant to allow the formation of larger economies of scale and enhance the region’s specialization in agricultural and industrial production. However, the reduction or even elimination of tariffs will not be enough to reach the AU’s objective of doubling the existing level of intra-African trade, as significant and continent-specific challenges lie ahead.

Oasis or Mirage? Intra-African Investments in Oil and Metals

Hopefully, a sweltering sun in Africa has not caused AU experts to see mirages of intra-regional finance. Providing for intra-African investments in the current context of the continent is like offering classes on how to make planes to students living in countries that cannot yet make cars: Virtually all the real action takes place elsewhere. Instead of negotiating a chapter on investment, delegates must prioritize a chapter on how AU members can build their capacity to engage in deeper economic relations, especially on how to leverage FDIs in natural resources to develop adequate infrastructure for intra-African investment.

Addressing Possible Institutional Bottlenecks in the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area

The AfCFTA is thus a positive development for Africa as it seeks to advance its own interests through intra-African trade. For a region of the world that contributes to only about 3% of global trade, increasing intra-African trade is a laudable project. For example, while intra-Asia and intra-Europe trade account for 59 per cent and 69 per cent of exports respectively, intra-African trade accounts for only 18 per cent of total exports. However, despite the modest successes at improving intra-African trade through the eight African Union-recognized regional trade agreements on the continent, there are genuine apprehensions regarding the viability of the proposed AfCFTA.

Nigeria’s Land Use Act in Light of the Pan-African Investment Code: Why Reforms are Necessary

The draft Pan-African Investment Code (PAIC) or (Code) was released in 2015 with the objective of fostering cross-border investment flows in Africa. While the draft code currently serves as “guiding instrument”, it remains a valuable blueprint for solving the long-standing investment problems plaguing the region. It is therefore imperative that African countries hasten their efforts to ensure its implementation as a binding treaty document. The decision to develop the Code was welcomed by experts as an opportunity to create a binding legal framework to oversee Africa’s industrial and structural transformation. The Code was also expected to balance the lopsided nature of the relationship between investors’ rights and host states’ obligations.

The Role of the AfCFTA in delivering the promises of the Fintech industry in Africa

The smooth and effective running of the AfCFTA and proper negotiation in the second phase of negotiations could help in the attainment of the continent’s most daring and ambitious goal yet. This is the creation of a single African market characterized by digital, financial and social inclusion; with our very own cities (Lagos, Nairobi, and Cape Town) competing to be the Fintech hub of the continent and the globe!

IEL and the AfCFTA: Beyond Trade Liberalisation, Economic Transformation and Development

In the specific context of the AfCFTA, (international economic) law is supposed to focus on producing rules designed to promote trade liberalisation by eliminating any constraints that are likely to prevent the flow of capital across the continent and to restrict the growth of business activities well as their expansion across national borders.

Free Movement of African Citizens: An Imperative for Continental Free Trade in Africa

The signing of the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area has been greeted with a lot of fanfare and has also been viewed as the possible Eldoradofor intra-African trade. While the text of the Agreement if implemented, would significantly improve Africa’s trading position vis-a-vis the global north and the far east, there are several obstacles that need to be crossed. One   obstacle is the ability of Africans to move within the continent freely either for leisure or to engage in commerce. It is this obstacle that the Protocol on Free Movement is created to address.

Why AfCFTA may not be a credible forerunner of single African market

The first seeming obstacle to the emergence of a single African market is the contradictions between the stated aims of AfCFTA and some of the principles set out in the AfCFTA Agreement. As noted earlier, AfCFTA’s objectives include creating “a single market” and laying “the foundations for the establishment of a Continental Customs Union”. Yet, one of the principles under Article 5 is “variable geometry”, that is, differentiated integration. Of course, variable geometry was designed to recognise the heterogeneity and diversity in Africa’s economies. However, a single market is not consistent with an a la carte approach, where members integrate at different speeds.