According to Emmanuel Jime, the executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), in order to quickly remove the various tariffs and non-tariff barriers preventing intra-African trade, African countries in the West and Central Africa sub-region must fully implement the potentials of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The “African Continental Free Trade Agreement: A Veritable Platform for African Shippers to Mainstream into Global Trade” was the theme of the opening address at the 9th United African Shippers’ Council (UASC) meeting in Lagos. Jime asserted that if African governments support tariff liberalization, intra-African trade can flourish.
He claims that trade between African nations is currently at a meager 11 percent and that the continent’s share of world trade is a laughable 3 percent.
However, he urged a reorientation and restructuring of intra-African commerce, which he said should begin in the sub-region of West and Central Africa.
It will be simpler for other sub-regions on the African continent to trade with them, he claimed, if the region gets it right.
