- Negotiations
Since 2008, there was talk about merging the member states of COMESA, the East African Community (EAC, with five members) and the Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC, with 14 members). In 2011, leaders of the 26 African countries within these three existing regional economic communities announced plans to negotiate a tripartite free trade area between them which would, cover over 600 million people and an estimated US$1 trillion in trade. In June 2011 in Johannesburg governments adopted the negotiating principles, modalities for negotiations and a roadmap for negotiating such an agreement at the 2nd Comesa-EAC-Sadc Summit. The first negotiating round was held in Nairobi in December 2011 and in June 2015 the "Tripartite Free Trade Area" or #TFTA was finally signed. It now needs to be ratified by the assemblies of parliaments of each member state to come into effect.
The texts of the FTA are here: http://www.tralac.org/resources/by-region/comesa-eac-sadc-tripartite-fta.html.
This agreement is to form the precursor of a continental Africa-wide FTA or CFTA.
last update: June 2015
photo: Tahrir Institute
30-Aug-2010
The private sector has been urged to actively participate in the formulation of policies that will help guide the proposed Free Trade Area of COMESA, East African Community (EAC), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
25-Aug-2010
Business Daily
Three regional trading blocs have created a draft agreement which paves the way for the setting up of a $624 billion free trade area.
25-Nov-2009
Zimguardian
Three regional trading blocs — the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa), East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) — plan to launch a Free Trade Area by 2012.
15-Nov-2009
Relative advancement of Kenya, South Africa and Egypt’s economies has emerged as one of the leading threats to the merger of three African trading blocs, trade experts said, citing potential disputes that lie in joining economies that are at different levels of development in a seamless market.
11-Nov-2009
Three African trade blocs that have agreed to form a free trade area covering more than half a billion people created a long overdue roadmap on Monday.
24-Aug-2009
East African
Three leading regional trading blocs in Africa — EAC, COMESA and SADC — have simplified the rules of origin to be applied by all member states in a move aimed at boosting intra-continental trade.
5-Nov-2008
Twenty six African countries, a single market and open borders that allow persons to move across freely and conduct business. That was the vision of the Tripartite Summit that took place in Kampala last week. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania called it “a landmark summit for a landmark decision” while President Yoweri Museveni said it was “historic”.
2-Nov-2008
The proposed merger of the EAC, SADC and COMESA will help reduce the cost of doing business for companies within the 26 countries and boost foreign direct investment (FDI) to levels never seen before.
2-Nov-2008
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has challenged three East African Community (EAC) partner states to agree to one regional trade bloc in order to make the customs union (CU) more effective.
29-Oct-2008
African leaders from three regional economic blocs held a historic joint summit in Kampala, Uganda, last week, a move that adds fresh impetus to the long-term plan of setting up a continental economic community.