Ever so Slowly – the AfCFTA Rules of Origin (RoO)

The Rules of Origin (RoO) lie at the centre of the AfCFTA’s ambitions to remove customs tariffs (duties) over the next years. If these rules are not agreed upon, ‘third countries’ (that is countries outside Africa) could either import their goods fully assembled into an AfCFTA country to be re-exported to the rest of the trade bloc or import all the parts of a product and simply do the assembly in an African country. The AfCFTA Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin (RoO) continues to discuss outstanding issues and draft the RoO manual. During the Sub-Committee meeting, the participants were briefed on the state of play with regard to the AfCFTA Appendix IV on Rules of Origin.

The meeting participants had in-depth discussions on outstanding Rules of Origin taking into consideration the implications of the HS 2022. In conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed that the AfCFTA would continue its cooperation with the HS-Africa Programme and the recently established EU-WCO Programme for Rules of Origin in Africa to implement and manage Rules of Origin fully.