CALL FOR PAPERS [Apologies for cross-posting]
AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA [AfCFTA]: IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES
THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS INVITES YOU TO SUBMIT PAPERS FOR A WORKSHOP ON: “AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA (AfCFTA): IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES”. THE VIRTUAL WORKSHOP WILL HOLD ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2021. OUTSTANDING PAPERS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN A SPECIAL ISSUE.
AfCFTA is a gamechanger. The AfCFTA agreement brings together 1.3 billion people across 55-member states of the AU, creating a huge market size of a combined gross domestic product valued at more than US$3.4 trillion. The signing of the AfCFTA was a major milestone in the continents quest for regional economic integration. Its major objective is the attainment of the Pan-African vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. The AfCFTA has been considered as a major opportunity for African countries to attract foreign direct investment, diversify exports, boost growth, reduce poverty, foster economic inclusion and promote sustainable economic development. Although it has been reported that Africa accounts for less than 3 percent of global trade, available estimates suggest that the AfCFTA has the potential to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 percent and double if non-tariff barriers are also reduced. Thus, there is ample optimism that building a regional market to enhance the creation of employment opportunities would provide the spark for poverty reduction on the continent. However, the proviso ‘if properly implemented’ is appended to all its promises.
We invite contributions from authors working on AfCFTA. The workshop focuses on the challenges of AfCFTA implementation. Some questions we expect the papers to answer are lessons learnt from the review of the history of implementing trade and regional agreements in Africa; identification of the country- and continental-level challenges to proper implementation of the AfCFTA; solutions to the problems of policy design, administration, institutions and political economy. The workshop will discuss these issues at the sub-national, national, regional and continental levels across Africa and beyond. Contributions to the workshop and the special issue publication will do the following:
• Examine challenges of AfCFTA trade policymaking process: analysis, communication and representation.
• Analyse challenges of consultation with domestic groups (for example, private sectors players and trade groups).
• Examine problems with the creation or reform of intra- and inter-institutional communication and management instruments that are necessary for the implementation, administration, and enforcement of cross-cutting policies that require interventions from multiple government agencies.
• Analyse trade negotiation coordination between different groups: negotiators, government agencies and ministries, private sector, states and regions.
• Analyse problems of translation of trade commitments into specific legislation that is subject to the domestic political process.
• Examine problems with creation or reform of institutions mandated with implementation and administration of AfCFTA or problems of institutional capacity.
We invite researchers interested in presenting at the workshop to send an abstract of no more than 250 words with professional affiliation and contact details to [log in to unmask] by Friday 25 June 2021. Decisions will be communicated by mid-July 2021. Draft papers (5000-8000 words) will be pre-circulated among participants by the second week of September. A selection of outstanding papers will be developed into a special issue in Journal
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