On 5 December 2020, the African Union Heads of States and Government decided to launch trade1 in goods under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 1January 2021. On the basis of the reciprocal offers already extended and the State Party’s “customs-readiness” during phase I negotiations, this interim arrangement will continue while Rules of Origin (RoO) and tariff concessions negotiations are expected to be concluded in Q2 2021; phase II negotiations to adopt protocols on competition policy, investment and intellectual property rights (IPRs) are currently underway (Tralac, 2021). This study investigates the nexus between trade in biodiversity, specifically on the legal and sustainable trade of biodiversity-based goods and services (including BioTrade), and the existing commitments under the framework of the AfCFTA. It seeks to identify potential entry points to enable legal and sustainable trade in biodiversity/ BioTrade to support AfCFTA through future commitments, including in market access, services, investment, intellectual property rights (IPR), and competition policy. While sustainable socioeconomic development is one of the general objectives of the AfCFTA, the link between trade and environment was not fully developed under commitments negotiated up to December 2020. In particular, the content needed to address sustainability had not yet been fully achieved. The AfCFTA Agreement would benefit from the inclusion of sustainable development considerations into the protocols being negotiated in phase II,2 as well as from the introduction of a specific protocol on trade and environment, with BioTrade as one of its components. This study presents short- and longer-term recommendations with a view to transform the AfCFTA Agreement into an enabler of legal and sustainable trade in biodiversity/BioTrade as a key driver for development in Africa.
Implications of the African continental free trade area for trade and biodiversity: Policy and regulatory recommendations
Year: 2021
