The Ministry of Trade & Industry has announced that Botswana will start to trade under the terms of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) on April 1st. This follows the publication of the Tariff Concessions and Rules of Origin for imports from participating AfCFTA members in the Government Gazette Extraordinary of 8th March 2024.
"The commencement of trading under this landmark Agreement provides the Private Sector with market access to the larger African market of 1.3 billion and will stimulate industrial development, investment and job creation which are in line with Botswana's Vision 2036," the ministry said in a statement.
The Ministry also stated that trading under the AfTA will result in wider and increased market access for Botswana's exports in the African continent with the private sector accessing a wide range of inputs or raw materials from the continent at competitive prices.
In preparation for trading under the AfCTA, companies that wish to trade under the Agreement are invited to contact the Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS) to be assisted in putting together administrative requirements for trading.
The AfCFTA is the world's largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to create a single market for the continent.