Most people have never heard of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA), which covers 26 African countries. It will create the biggest free-trade area on the continent, “from Cairo to the Cape”.
The continent features 17 trade blocs. The TFTA aims to join up three of them: the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
An abundance of borders has long divided the continent’s 54 countries, limiting economies of scale. Fixing common problems such as a shortage of roads takes teamwork—and in turn should lead to more integration. Average transport costs in Africa are twice the world average and are thought to harm trade on the continent more than tariffs and other barriers.
A shame, then, that regional economic deals are often poorly implemented.
Nearly all African countries are party to more than one regional agreement. These overlapping allegiances can tie them in knots. The TFTA is meant to iron out these differences, but the details are still to be decided.
Manufacturing tends to cluster in powerhouses such as Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Small agricultural producers fear being swamped with food from larger neighbours. There are no mechanisms for helping the losers. So it is difficult to convince countries to make sacrifices in order to increase trade.
Whether to protect their dominance or avoid hardship, most countries revert to protectionism.
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