Customs Cooperation as a Trade Facilitation Measure: A Comparative Analysis of Customs Cooperation under the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organisation and the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area

Customs cooperation is an essential requirement in facilitating international trade and supporting trade agreements. The simplification and harmonisation of customs procedures, along with facilitative border management systems, require the involvement of Customs as a key border agency. Cooperation among Customs administrations is therefore one of the interventions used to facilitate trade in trade agreements or free trade areas. Accordingly, trade agreements would typically include clauses that enable cooperation among Customs administrations. This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of Customs cooperation as stipulated in the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA Agreement). This analysis relies on a literature review of the relevant sources. The focus is on the differences and similarities between the legal texts dealing with Customs cooperation under the two trading regimes. This comparative analysis is premised on the fact that the WTO has a broader mandate involving global trade. In contrast, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) arises from a trade agreement negotiated by African member states for the continent pursuant to the political vision of the African Union (AU) and within the confines of the WTO, specifically Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. The paper found that due to the inherent divergences in the objectives of the WTO and the AfCFTA, the cooperation mechanisms provided for under the two trading regimes differ in certain respects. The TFA focuses on the exchange of selected information at a global level, while the AfCFTA Agreement goes beyond that and provides a framework for cooperation on broader issues required for deeper economic integration in Africa.