The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a flagship project of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which is the continent’s own development goal. It was authorized by the 18th regular Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, which met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012 and decided to create a Continental Free Trade Area. This idea, if implemented immediately, would yield swift results, have a positive impact on socio-economic growth, and increase Africans’ confidence and commitment as owners and drivers of Agenda 2063.
By increasing Africa’s shared voice and policy space in global trade discussions, the AfCFTA aspires to accelerate intra-African trade and increase Africa’s commercial position in the global market. As of 5 February 2021, 36 countries had deposited their instruments of ratification. The AfCFTA agreement has been ratified by Angola and 35 other countries.
The African Union (AU) mediated the agreement, which was signed by 44 of the African Union’s 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 21, 2018. Initially, members are required to remove tariffs on 90% of items, allowing free movement of commodities, goods, and services across the continent. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the deal will increase intra-African commerce by 52% by 2022. The plan was supposed to take effect 30 days after 22 of the signatory states ratified it.
The AfCFTA’s overarching goals are to:
- Create a single market for products and services, assisted by the movement of people, to strengthen the African continent’s economic integration and following Agenda 2063’s Pan People in Africa have a vision of “a fully integrated, wealthy, and peaceful Africa.”
- Through consecutive rounds of talks, create a liberalized market for goods and services;
- Contribute to the free movement of capital and natural persons, as well as the facilitation of investments, based on initiatives and advances in State Parties and RECs;
- Lay the groundwork for the eventual formation of a Continental Customs Union;
- Promote and achieve the State Parties’ sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality, and structural reform;
- Increase the competitiveness of State Parties’ economies on the continent and in the global market;
- Encourage industrial diversification and regional value chain growth, as well as agricultural development and food security.
- Resolve the issues of various and overlapping memberships while also speeding up regional and continental integration.
TIFA
This agreement was signed in 2009 by the United States and Angola. It lays out rules for trade and investment between them (TIFA). The first meeting of the US-Angolan Council on Trade and Investment took place in Luanda in June 2010.
Under the TIFA, a US-Angolan Council on Trade and Investment was established to address a wide range of trade and investment issues, including but not limited to trade capacity building, intellectual property, labor, environmental issues, and increasing small- and medium-sized enterprise participation in trade and investment. By identifying and addressing trade flow bottlenecks, the TIFA Council was able to help expand commercial and investment prospects.
Other key trading partners have TIFAs with the United States. TIFAs have been signed by the US with Ghana, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and the West African Economic Monetary Union in Sub-Saharan Africa (UEMOA). The United States and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)have also signed a Trade, Investment, and Development Cooperative Agreement (TIDCA).
Although Angola and the United States do not have a bilateral tax treaty, the government has implemented the Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act (FATCA), which requires Angolan financial institutions to report information on financial accounts held by US taxpayers to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The United Arab Emirates, China, and Portugal all have bilateral tax accords with Angola.
