Free trade 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Back in 2002, fifty-five nations on the continent of Africa joined together in the African Union (AU) to advance their vision of an "Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa."

Last year, AU leader and president of Rwanda Paul Kagame introduced a new free trade agreement:  the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Twenty-two of the AU member countries have ratified the agreement, and it should go into effect soon.

Kagame addressing AU

It's a "a continental geographic zone where goods and services move among member states of the AU with no restrictions."

"The AfCFTA is expected to boost consumer spending to about US$1.4 trillion in 2020 and increase intra-African trade by as much as US$35 billion per year, or 52 percent above the baseline by 2022."

Many decades of socialism, corruption, and governmental "aid" have left African nations in worse economic shape than they were back in the mid-20th century. There is fervent hope that this new free trade agreement can expand African economies while lifting millions out of poverty and into prosperity.