AfCFTA Urges African Businesses to Report Non-Tariff Barriers

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has urged African businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to make greater use of the Agreement’s mechanisms for reporting and resolving non-tariff barriers (NTBs) affecting cross-border trade.

Head of the Non-Tariff Measures Division at the AfCFTA Secretariat, Ms. Poonam D. Mohun, said removing customs duties alone would not be enough to ensure seamless trade across Africa.

Speaking on the AfCFTA Podcast, she explained that businesses must also meet product standards, safety requirements, certification procedures and other regulatory requirements in destination markets.

Non-tariff measures

Non-tariff measures are official requirements designed to ensure that imported products meet health, safety, quality and labelling standards.

For example, food products may be subject to sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, while textiles, cosmetics and manufactured goods may require testing, certification or conformity assessments.

Ms. Mohun noted, however, that such measures can become barriers to trade when they are applied inconsistently, cause unnecessary delays or impose excessive costs on businesses.

She said the AfCFTA Secretariat has been working with State Parties and continental institutions to harmonise standards and promote the mutual recognition of certificates and conformity-assessment results.

“The aim is that a certificate issued in one AfCFTA country should be recognised in another,” she said.

According to Ms. Mohun, repeated testing and certification can be particularly costly for SMEs, with some businesses required to pay hundreds of dollars for certification for individual consignments.

Online reporting mechanism

To address these challenges, the AfCFTA Secretariat has established an online non-tariff barrier reporting mechanism through which traders can report difficulties encountered during cross-border trade.

Traders are required to provide information on the affected product, its customs classification, the countries involved and the specific obstacle encountered.

Once a complaint is lodged, the Secretariat engages designated focal points in the relevant countries and facilitates discussions among traders, government authorities and other institutions responsible for resolving the issue.

Complex cases may also be referred to the AfCFTA Sub-committee on Non-Tariff Barriers for further consideration.

Ms. Mohun stressed that businesses must formally report the challenges they face to enable the Secretariat to intervene.

“Please tell us your problem so that we can address it. It is the only way the Secretariat can officially address an issue,” she appealed.

She disclosed that about 900 participants joined an AfCFTA Secretariat webinar on the reporting mechanism, with approximately 500 completing an assessment and receiving certificates as champions of the initiative.

Certificates of origin

Ms. Mohun also highlighted the importance of certificates of origin for businesses seeking preferential treatment under the AfCFTA.

She explained that traders must demonstrate that their products qualify as originating goods under the Agreement before they can benefit from preferential tariffs.

She noted that some businesses mistakenly expect to access AfCFTA tariff preferences without obtaining the required documentation.

Beyond the reporting mechanism, AfCFTA structures dealing with sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and non-tariff barriers are bringing national authorities together to address regulatory challenges.

State Parties are also expected to establish national monitoring committees involving customs authorities, trade and finance ministries, standards bodies, food and drugs regulators, chambers of commerce and private-sector representatives.

Mutual recognition

Ms. Mohun described progress towards a continental Mutual Recognition Agreement as an important development.

The proposed framework is intended to reduce duplication by allowing countries to recognise testing and certification conducted by competent institutions in other African countries.

She acknowledged that harmonising national systems and implementing continental decisions would take time but said there was growing political commitment to the process.

“The first thing we have to do on our continent is implement. We must implement what we have signed,” she said.

Call to African businesses

Ms. Mohun encouraged African businesses to look beyond traditional overseas markets and explore opportunities within the continent.

She said the AfCFTA provides a legally binding framework that offers businesses a more predictable foundation for long-term intra-African trade.

“The AfCFTA is not a book sitting in a library or on a laptop. It is a concrete tool that businesses can use to trade across the continent. It is the future, so please make use of it,” she said.

story by : Mark Acheampong