Modern for Whom? Interrogating the New Generation of EU – Africa Economic Partnership Agreements
SEATINI & South Centre Regional Webinar
Wednesday, 7 October 2026, 2-3:30 PM EAT/3-4:30 PM CEST
Venue: Zoom
An African-led discussion on the enhanced EU–ESA4 EPA and what the new generation of EPAs could mean for Africa’s policy space, industrialisation and regional integration under the AfCFTA.
Assessing Five Years of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Proposals on Potential Amendments
By Kiiza Africa
On 30th May 2024, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) celebrated its fifth anniversary, which legally implied that the agreement is up for review for possible amendments. To kickstart this review, the Thirty-Seventh Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit (held in February 2024) directed the AfCFTA Secretariat to take necessary measures for the start of the review of the Agreement. This review comes at a moment when the AfCFTA implementation and its vehicle, the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI), have been fraught with challenges. Broadly, these challenges include the slow submission of tariff liberalization schedules by State Parties, infrastructure deficits, persistent non-tariff barriers and trade wars in regional economic communities, and overlapping regional trade commitments. Thus, the upcoming AfCFTA review provides an opportunity to assess progress, identify implementation bottlenecks, and propose actionable amendments. This paper examines these challenges through a comprehensive analysis of the AfCFTA’s state of play, illuminating the progress while highlighting the slow momentum registered for the past five years of its operation. Proposals for the agreement’s amendment revolve on accelerating infrastructure development, harmonizing rules of origin, integrating labor rights, and fostering industrial diversification. By moving beyond liberalization as its raison d’être and prioritizing the scaling up of State Parties’ productive capacities, the AfCFTA can evolve from a mere trade liberalization agreement into a transformative driver of Africa’s economic renaissance. It is hoped that this timely assessment underscores the urgency of reorienting the AfCFTA to unlock its full potential for propelling intra-Africa trade.
APEC, free trade and the WTO
By Humberto Campodónico
The implementation of bilateral free trade agreements, the FTAs, began 25 years ago, with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico and the United States. The European Union, which was initially reluctant to sign bilateral FTAs, also adopted them. In our region, Chile was the first South American country to sign an FTA with the US. Then came Peru and Colombia. (more…)
TPPA may fall victim to US political dynamics
By Martin Khor
The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement has become a political football in the US Presidential elections and with the public mood so against trade agreements, the TPPA faces the real possibility of being discarded. No country was more active in pushing for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). In the five years of negotiations, the United States cajoled, persuaded and pressurised its trade partners to take on board its issues and positions. (more…)
“Free trade” in trouble in the United States
By Martin Khor
As free trade reaches a crossroads in the US, developing countries have to rethink their own trade realities for their own development interests. “Free trade” seems to be in deep trouble in the United States, with serious implications for the rest of the world. Opposition to free trade or trade agreements emerged as a big theme among the leading American presidential candidates. (more…)
