Lessons from AfCFTA Readiness Reviews: Lesson #2: Tackling Non-Tariff Barriers

One of the most compelling promises of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is its potential to increase intra-African trade by more than 50% through the elimination of tariffs and the reduction of trade obstacles. By lowering tariff walls and opening markets, the AfCFTA seeks to weave together Africa’s diverse and fragmented economies into a single, dynamic marketplace. However, the accurate measure of the AfCFTA’s success lies not only in tariff reductions but in its capacity to eliminate non-tariff barriers (NTBs)—the everyday hurdles that traders encounter at borders, ports, and checkpoints. These obstacles, which include excessive paperwork, protracted clearance processes, inconsistent standards, and hidden fees, often represent the real cost of doing business in Africa.

This challenge was underscored in the AfCFTA Readiness Reviews conducted by the Trade Policy Training Centre for Africa (trapca), with financial support from the African Development Bank (AfDB) through the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). The findings across multiple countries were clear: NTBs remain one of the most persistent and significant bottlenecks to realising the full potential of the AfCFTA. In short, while tariffs may be falling on paper, NTBs continue to constrain trade on the ground. Addressing these barriers is therefore critical if Africa is to transform the AfCFTA from a continental ambition into a lived economic reality.

1. Why Tackling NTBs Matters

While tariffs have traditionally dominated trade negotiations, the AfCFTA Readiness Reviews revealed that for African traders, non-tariff barriers (NTBs) often present a far greater challenge than tariffs themselves. These barriers undermine the competitiveness of businesses, increase the cost of trade, and erode the very benefits the AfCFTA seeks to deliver.

Common NTBs identified across countries include:

• Bureaucratic delays at customs and border posts.
• Cumbersome paperwork and excessive documentation requirements.
• Inconsistent application of rules of origin creates uncertainty for traders.
• Arbitrary fees are imposed by local authorities.
• Unharmonised standards and certification procedures lead to duplication and added costs.
• Restrictive licensing regimes, particularly in the services sectors such as transport and telecommunications.

For small-scale cross-border traders—many of whom are women and youth—these barriers are especially burdensome. They increase transaction costs, reduce profitability, and in some cases make cross-border trade unpredictable and unviable. Effectively addressed, NTBs will continue to undermine Africa’s efforts to build an integrated and inclusive continental market.

2. Findings from the Readiness Reviews

Across multiple countries, the reviews highlighted that:

1. Customs and Border Inefficiencies remain widespread, with clearance times stretching into days or weeks instead of hours.
2. Regulatory Fragmentation creates duplication, as traders face different standards, forms, and procedures when moving from one country to another.
3. Limited Transparency and Predictability around border procedures increase the risk of informal payments and corruption.
4. Weak Enforcement of NTB Resolution Mechanisms undermines the credibility of existing regional NTB monitoring systems.
5. Impact on SMEs is Severe, with smaller firms often unable to absorb the additional costs or navigate the complexity of NTBs.

3. The AfCFTA NTB Mechanism: A Continental Tool

Recognising the persistent challenge that non-tariff barriers (NTBs) pose to cross-border trade, the AfCFTA Agreement established a dedicated NTB Monitoring, Reporting, and Elimination Mechanism. This online, rules-based platform is designed to give traders—whether large exporters or small-scale cross-border operators—a direct channel to report barriers they encounter in real time.

Through the mechanism, traders can lodge complaints about issues such as excessive documentation requirements, arbitrary charges, delays at borders, or discriminatory practices. Once reported, these complaints are formally escalated to the designated NTB focal points within the affected member states. Governments are then expected to work bilaterally or through AfCFTA structures to resolve the complaint within agreed timelines, ensuring that traders receive tangible relief and that barriers are systematically addressed.

This mechanism is a landmark feature of the AfCFTA because it moves NTB resolution away from informal or ad hoc lobbying and embeds it within a transparent, accountable, and rules-based process. If fully utilised, it has the potential to reduce the unpredictability that discourages investment and hampers intra-African trade.

However, the AfCFTA Readiness Reviews revealed several critical gaps:

• Many traders, particularly SMEs and women cross-border traders, remain unaware that the mechanism exists, let alone how to access or use it.
• In several countries, national-level NTB committees and reporting systems are either under-resourced or inactive, leaving traders without functional points of escalation at home.
• Even when NTBs are reported, the speed and consistency of resolution vary greatly, eroding confidence in the system.

Border officials and local authorities are often unaware of, or untrained in, their obligations under the mechanism, meaning that NTBs continue to persist on the ground despite continental commitments.

Without stronger domestic institutionalisation and awareness campaigns, the effectiveness of the continental NTB mechanism risks being undermined. In practice, this means that the system’s potential to transform Africa’s trading environment will remain untapped unless member states invest in building robust national NTB structures, training frontline officials, and empowering traders to make use of the tool.

Put simply, the mechanism provides the framework, but its success depends on effective implementation at the national level.

4. Lessons Learnt

The readiness reviews distilled several key lessons:

• Digitisation is essential. Paper-based systems are a breeding ground for delays and inefficiencies. Countries that invested in e-customs and single-window systems demonstrated faster clearance times and lower trade costs.
• Regional Coordination Works– At One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) such as Chirundu (Zambia–Zimbabwe), streamlined processes showed how collaboration can cut duplication and save traders valuable time.
• Stakeholder Engagement is Key– Traders—especially women and youth in cross-border trade—must be central to designing NTB reforms, as they are the ones most affected by inefficiencies.
• Capacity Gaps Need Addressing– Customs officials, regulators, and border agencies require continuous training to align national practices with AfCFTA standards.
• Political Will Determines Success- Where governments prioritised NTB elimination, reforms moved quickly; where vested interests prevailed, progress stalled.

5. Good Practices Identified

• Kenya and Rwanda: Made notable progress with electronic single-window customs systems, cutting clearance times significantly.
• ECOWAS: Advanced efforts to harmonise standards and certification, reducing duplications in food safety and agricultural trade.
• SADC NTB Monitoring Mechanism: Provided an early model for the AfCFTA NTB system, with lessons on both successes and pitfalls in enforcement.

Priority Actions Going Forward

Based on trapca, findings, countries can accelerate NTB elimination by:

1. Operationalising National NTB Committees – with clear mandates, resources, and linkages to the AfCFTA mechanism.
2. Scaling Up Awareness – ensuring that SMEs and informal traders know how to report NTBs and seek redress.
3. Investing in Digital Trade Solutions – including e-customs, electronic certification, and interoperable systems across borders.
4. Harmonising Standards and Regulations – aligning SPS/TBT measures with AfCFTA annexes and international norms.
5. Strengthening accountability – introducing performance metrics for customs and border agencies to track clearance times and user satisfaction.

6. Turning Barriers into Opportunities

The AfCFTA cannot succeed if goods, services, and traders continue to be trapped in long queues, weighed down by paperwork, or deterred by arbitrary charges. Tackling NTBs is not simply a technical issue; it is a political and developmental priority.

By investing in digitisation, harmonisation, and accountability, African countries can transform borders from chokepoints into gateways of opportunity. The readiness reviews make it clear: addressing NTBs is the key to unlocking the AfCFTA’s promise of a truly integrated, competitive, and prosperous Africa.

✍️ This blog is based on lessons from AfCFTA Readiness Reviews conducted by trapca with financial support from ACBF and AfDB.