Economic development in Africa: Made in Africa – rules of origin for enhanced intra-African trade

The Trade and Development Board

1. Welcomes the UNCTAD secretariat’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2019: Made in Africa – Rules of Origin for Enhanced Intra-African Trade;
    
2. Recognizes that progress has been made with the launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area, at the of Heads of State and Government of the African Union summit in Niamey in July 2019; the African Continental Free Trade Area will be governed by operational instruments, among which are rules of origin;
    
3. Takes note that these historic milestones follow the ratification of the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area by 27 countries and 54 signatories;
    
4. Highlights the renewed political commitment by African leaders for the crucial role of trade and regional integration in the economic development of Africa and attainment of African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want;
    
5. Takes note of the main message of the report: the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area represents a historic opportunity for the continent to boost intra-African trade and accelerate structural transformation; and notes further that this relies on a vital policy instrument, the effective implementation of preferential trade liberalization among African Continental Free Trade Area members;
    
6. Recognizes that defining business-friendly, transparent and flexible rules of origin is, among other measures, necessary for realizing the promised gains of the preferential tariff liberalization process;
    
7. Underscores the need that the African Continental Free Trade Area should unleash the latent potential of regional value chains to foster industrialization, boost economic growth, create decent jobs in all sectors of the economy and transform informal businesses and informal cross-border trade, contributing to the gradual reduction of vulnerability in employment, including among women and youth;
    
8. Acknowledges that to realize the potential gains from the African Continental Free Trade Area requires a strengthening of institutional capacities to ensure impartial, transparent, predictable and consistent implementation of agreed rules of origin;
    
9. Recognizes that the design of rules of origin should also account for different levels of productive capacities and competitiveness across African countries, so that no country is left behind;
    
10. Acknowledges that how rules of origin are designed and enforced in the African Continental Free Trade Area will have an impact on (a) the size and distribution of African Continental Free Trade Area gains across African countries; (b) how regional value chains are developed in Africa and how deep they can be; and (c) the extent to which “made in Africa” goods can be successfully marketed on the continent;
     
11. Encourages that the implementation of rules of origin ensures consistency and convergence of approaches between the concerned authorities and fosters a regular dialogue between public and private sectors;
     
12. Calls on developed countries and developing countries in a position to do so, as well as relevant institutions, to continue providing the continent with appropriate support measures to deepen regional integration and address the challenges of non-tariff barriers and declining investment in the productive and infrastructure sectors, so as to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area and achieve Africa’s development goals;
     
13. Requests UNCTAD to further support the African Union secretariat on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and to continue its research and analysis on Africa’s development issues, while strengthening efforts to implement activities in line with the recommendations made in its research products, taking into consideration gender-related aspects in accordance with the Nairobi Maafikiano mandate.