By Sanna Camara
His Excellency, President Adama Barrow has told the 12th Extra-Ordinary Summit of AU Head of States that The Gambia supports the decision to have a regulation on goods coming from the Special Economic Zones in the Africa continental free trade area.
Under the continental free trade agreement, the entire continent is considered a domestic market. This means manufacturing and export of goods enjoy free taxes, customs and tariffs that companies in local economies do not enjoy. Trade experts say such practices will distort competition for economies like The Gambia.
“My government is aware that the treatment of goods from the Special Economic Zones has a vast potential to promote employment, export trade, poverty reduction, economic growth and development. However, we do not want to put our domestic economies at a disadvantage in competing with firms operating within the zones,” President Barrow argued.
He said The Gambia therefore, supports the decision to have a regulation on goods coming from the Special Economic Zones.
President Barrow joined other Head of States and Governments of the African Union to launch the operational phase of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in Niamey, Niger. The Niger meeting is considered to have shown strong political will by African leaders to implementing the agreement that will remove tariffs between member countries.
Key issues discussed at the Summit included the removal of non-tariff barriers and regulations, controlling trade liberalisation, rules of origin and the development of a digital payment system. It makes Africa the biggest trading zone in the world, with 54 member countries and 1.2billion people.
Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Benin were the latest to sign the agreements at the Niamey Summit. The duty free movement is expected to boost intra-regional trade, while also helping countries move away from mainly exporting raw materials and build manufacturing capacity to attract foreign investment.
However, President Barrow clearly expressed The Gambia’s position on some of the provisions contained in the agreement. These include the support for the decision to modify the existing framework, in order to achieve a harmonised Customs Union tariff schedule.
“This is based, however, on the condition that the Less Developed Countries (LDCs) would be compensated for having the same implementation transition period as non-LDCs,” he explained.
He also calls upon the Working Group on Trade Remedies to expedite work in this area so that the instrument will be available for use whenever necessary, in order to correct trade imbalances if they arise.
In his welcoming speech, Niger’s President and Champion of the AfCFTA, Mr. Muhmamed Issofou described the Africa free market as the most important achievement of the Union since its formation in 1963.
