Zambia Ready to Trade Under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area

The government has finalised publishing its Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions (PSTC) under the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

In a statement on Monday, 18 February, the Ministry of Commerce’s Trade and Industry Principal Public Relations Officer Everness Nankala said Zambia was now ready to begin trading under the (AfCFTA), following the introduction of Statutory Instrument No. 94.

The AfCFTA is Africa’s flagship initiative to create a single market of about 1.3 billion people with a combined GDP of about US$3.4 trillion. It provides a framework for tariff reductions, trade in services, investment promotion, digital trade, competition policy and intellectual property rights

The move will allow Zambia to expand its preferential market access beyond the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). 

In the statement, Nankala encouraged Zambian private-sector actors to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to enhance trade.

“Businesses are urged to participate in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which aims to boost intra-Africa trade and contribute to building “the Africa we want,” said the Trade and Industry public relations officer.

The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to “supporting Zambian businesses in leveraging the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA " and promised to “ensure Zambia maximises the benefits of the Agreement.”