Why states must ratify TFTA by October

PUBLISHED ON July 31st, 2017

Why states must ratify TFTA by October

Negotiations for the creation of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) will be finalised at the end of October.

The TFTA brings together 26 countries— partner states of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community.

The TFTA Council of Ministers, in their recent meeting held in Kampala on July 7, set a new timeframe of three months to clear outstanding issues, especially on tariffs and ratification of the agreement by the member countries.

At the launch of the TFTA on June 10, 2015 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the heads of state set a timeframe of 12 months for finalising the negotiations, but by October 2016, there were outstanding issues, prompting the ministers extend the deadline to April 2017. That, too, was missed.

Now, Francis Mangeni, director of Trade and Customs at Comesa, says the October 30 deadline must be met, as the TFTA faces an existential risk from the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) expected to be launched by the end of the year.

“Some countries argue that with the 55-member CFTA, the TFTA is unnecessary,” said Dr Mangeni. “Besides, they add, the TFTA is not as ambitious as the CFTA.”

At the Kampala meeting, the ministers agreed on the rules of origin, trade remedies and dispute settlement mechanisms.

“The adoption of these three outstanding issues represented a milestone in the tripartite negotiations, as it removed the last obstacle to signing and ratifying the agreement,” Dr Mangeni said.

While the main agreement was signed on June 10, 2015, six out of the 10 major issues have been negotiated and agreed.

Countries are yet to simplify their tariff schedules, with only Mauritius and the Seychelles having submitted theirs. Only Egypt has signed and ratified the agreement. A total of 14 ratifications are required for the agreement to enter into force.

EAC countries had set March 2017 to ratify the agreement, but then postponed it to a later date. Uganda has promised to ratify it by August.

Source: The East African

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