Border closures on the African continent are not unusual. Earlier this year, Sudan closed its border with Libya and the Central African Republic, and Kenya suspended cross-border trade with Somalia, both for security reasons. Rwanda briefly closed the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in response to Ebola outbreaks. However, the closure of Nigeria`s border differs from these previous incidents as it was introduced to address trade-related concerns. Free trade agreements aim to reduce trade tariffs between Member States. What complicates the negotiations is that Africa was already divided into eight separate free trade areas and/or customs unions, with different rules. [Note 1] These regional forums will continue to exist; The African Continental Free Trade Agreement aims, first, to remove barriers to trade between the various pillars of the African Economic Community and, finally, to use these regional organizations as building blocks of the ultimate goal of an Africa-wide customs union. [21] [30] [31] [32] As of July 2019, 54 of the 55 African Union states had signed the agreement, with Eritrea being the only country not to sign it. Of these Member States, 27 have deposited their instruments of ratification. [43] [44] Eritrea was not part of the original agreement due to a persistent state of war, but the 2018 peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea ended the conflict and ended the barrier to Eritrea`s participation in the free trade agreement.
