The Mozambican government plans to submit by 30 June a list of products and services that it will exempt from customs duties, as part of the process of joining the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“The work has been completed and we will deposit our tariff offer with the AfCFTA Secretariat by 30 June,” said the Minister for Industry and Trade, Silvino Moreno, cited by Mozambican state daily newspaper Notícias.
“We have already deposited the agreement ratified by Parliament at the African Union secretariat, what was missing was the tariff offer,” Moreno said.
He noted that the document to be delivered to the continental organisation lists the prices of products and services that the country will place on the market and exempt from customs duties, under the treaty.
“We have enormous agricultural potential. We can supply cashew nuts, cotton, shrimp and other products that are currently heading to Europe,” the Minister for Industry and Trade said.
After the instrument was deposited, the agreement would be disseminated to the national private sector so that it could take advantage of the treaty, Moreno said.
According to a World Bank report, the agreement will create the “largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of participating countries” and has the potential to “lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty” if “significant” political and trade reforms are adopted.
“The creation of the vast regional market represents an important opportunity to help African countries diversify their exports, accelerate growth and attract foreign direct investment,” says the report, called “AfCTA: Economic Effects and Distribution.
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