They come in all sorts of forms and with different rules, but in short, they make trade between countries as liberal as possible and allow for rules-based competition. They also get rid of quotas, so there is no limit for the amount of trade you can do. On July 7, Nigeria became a signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with President Muhammadu Buhari signing the agreement at an African Union (AU) meeting in Niger. The private sector will also need to respond, with lawyers needing to understand international trade law and related intellectual property, dispute resolution and conflict of laws issues. The trade deal “offers Nigerian production and service companies immense opportunities to expand into Africa,” the body`s chairman, Desmond Guobadia, said in a statement after the presentation of his report. Nigeria will need to modernize and adapt its administrative, legal and trade infrastructure to implement the free trade area and fully adopt it, and Ajagbe is aware that “it is not as robust as it should be”, while clarifying that the same goes for its neighbours: “It is a beautiful new world for much of Africa and many support services – including legally – are still at work.” The agreement is an attempt by the AU to achieve continental integration allowing the free movement of people, capital, goods and services, with the aim of achieving economic integration, promoting agricultural development, food security, industrialization and structural economic change on the African continent. With Nigeria`s signature, the AfCFTA`s dream of increasing intra-African trade, currently below the continent`s trade volume with Europe, is now a step forward. As a first step, 44 countries signed the agreement on 21 March 2018. Nigeria was one of 11 African Union nations that initially did not sign. At the time, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigeria could not do anything that would harm local producers and entrepreneurs. [53] The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, which represents 3,000 Nigerian producers, welcomed the decision to withdraw from the agreement. [53] Nigeria`s foreign minister tweeted that further internal consultations were needed before Nigeria could sign the deal.
[54] Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said Nigeria`s delay was regrettable. [55] The Nigerian Labor Congress called the agreement a “renewed neoliberal political initiative, extremely dangerous and radioactive,” indicating that increased economic pressure would push workers to migrate under difficult and uncertain conditions. [56] Currently, part of this intra-African trade ranges from fresh fish from Seychelles to gasoline from Angola. At that summit, Benin and Nigeria signed the agreement, so Eritrea is the only African State not to be part of this agreement; In the meantime, Eritrea has applied to accede to the agreement. Gabon and Equatorial Guinea also deposited their ratifications at the summit. At the time of launch, there were 27 states that had ratified the agreement. [45] [47] [48] [49] Since then, the Nigeria Trade Negotiations Office has consulted with 27 groups, including trade unions. When the AfCFTA enters into force, it aims to create an internal market for goods and services in Africa. . . .