Objective
The objective of the 10th Meeting of the Technical Working Group on Rules of Origin (TWG) was for the TWG to review the bracketed text of the draft Appendix IV on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Rules of Origin (RoO), as well as to consider other outstanding work assigned to it.
Main Results
The Meeting considered the bracketed text of the draft Appendix IV of HS Chapters 9, 11, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22-24, 28, 29, 32, 34, 36, 41, 42, 48-51, 53, 56, 59, 68, 69, 82, 84, 86, and 88.
Upon request from delegates and the African Union Commission (AUC) Secretariat during the 8th meeting of the TWG, an advanced technical paper on HS Chapter 86 [Railway, tramway locomotives, rolling-stock and parts thereof; Railway or tramway track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; Mechanical (including electro-mechanical) traffic signaling equipment of all kinds] was prepared UNCTAD prior the event, and circulated to all the delegates.
The UNCTAD team also delivered tailor-made advice on technical matters during and outside formal sessions of the Meeting, holding consultations with several delegations, including, inter alia, Algeria, Egypt, Mauritius, Guinea, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
The Meeting was attended by delegates from Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, The Sudan, eSwatini, United Republic of Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The meeting was also attended by officials from the African Union Commission (AUC), the East African Community (EAC), the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), as well as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Technical assistance was delivered in English and French. Simultaneous translation was provided in Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese.
