Explore the evidence.
Understand the reach.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the enforcement mechanisms and compliance challenges in Africa’s Continental Trade Regime. This study employed the qualitative doctrinal and policy research design to explore the issue of the enforcement of transport services regulatory matters within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The study adopted a doctrinal analysis of the AfCFTA instruments with a combination of thematic policy reviews; hence, it relied exclusively on secondary qualitative data obtained from authoritative legal and institutional sources. Primary data sources and materials comprise the AfCFTA Agreement, Protocol on Trade in Services, the Dispute Settlement Protocol, and relevant annexes that govern regulatory cooperation, market access, and nontariff barriers. The data collection procedure involved a systematic desk review and thematic analysis for qualitative studies to analyse the data. The review shows four main enforcement mechanisms of the regulatory framework of transport services under the AfCFTA. These include legal obligations and notification requirements, institutional oversight by AfCFTA bodies, peer review and political accountability, and dispute settlement mechanisms are some of the most outstanding aspects of the AfCFTA Agreement. Factors including regulation fragmentation, the absence of enforcement powers, non-transparency, and restrictive market access conditions, insufficient professional standards in commonality, insecurity, and transport barriers challenges the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms. The authors conclude that the design of the AfCFTA alone is not adequate in facilitating the opening of the transport service. The study therefore provides pragmatic measures to strengthen the institutional capacity, harmonise the regulations, and monitor compliance better. These reforms can influence the reduction of trade costs, the improvement of supply chain reliability, and the attainment of the AfCFTA's broader aim of economic integration across the continent.

There have been significant changes in the GATT / WTO system, one of them is its expansion in membership. The regime has up grown from its original 22 founding members to over 140 at the turn of the 20th century. The enlargement has led to the fundamental change in the character of the regime. In the early years the GATT / WTO was perceived of by China as a “Rich Nations’ Club” or “the Club of the Rich,” in which wealthy countries imposed rules on poor and weak developing countries. By the year 2000, the WTO included a majority of developing countries, many of which are among the poorest countries of the world. Furthermore, with the inclusion of China and Russia, the WTO community included all the major nations of the world, even those that were previously uninterested in open trade and thus stayed outside the trade regime. The paper in the above context begins with a brief history of China’s accession to the WTO, including a review of China’s objectives and motivations in joining. It reviews how its entry has supported its substantial growth and further integration into the global economy in terms of trade patterns and other economic indicators such as FDI along with regulations governing IPRs in tune with the WTO obligations. A brief portrait of comparison of Chinese economy with Indian economy is also laid down because both are leading emerging market developing economies — one is the Dragon and the other the Elephant.
  

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the enforcement mechanisms and compliance challenges in Africa’s Continental Trade Regime. This study employed the qualitative doctrinal and policy research design to explore the issue of the enforcement of transport services regulatory matters within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The study adopted a doctrinal analysis of the AfCFTA instruments with a combination of thematic policy reviews; hence, it relied exclusively on secondary qualitative data obtained from authoritative legal and institutional sources. Primary data sources and materials comprise the AfCFTA Agreement, Protocol on Trade in Services, the Dispute Settlement Protocol, and relevant annexes that govern regulatory cooperation, market access, and nontariff barriers. The data collection procedure involved a systematic desk review and thematic analysis for qualitative studies to analyse the data. The review shows four main enforcement mechanisms of the regulatory framework of transport services under the AfCFTA. These include legal obligations and notification requirements, institutional oversight by AfCFTA bodies, peer review and political accountability, and dispute settlement mechanisms are some of the most outstanding aspects of the AfCFTA Agreement. Factors including regulation fragmentation, the absence of enforcement powers, non-transparency, and restrictive market access conditions, insufficient professional standards in commonality, insecurity, and transport barriers challenges the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms. The authors conclude that the design of the AfCFTA alone is not adequate in facilitating the opening of the transport service. The study therefore provides pragmatic measures to strengthen the institutional capacity, harmonise the regulations, and monitor compliance better. These reforms can influence the reduction of trade costs, the improvement of supply chain reliability, and the attainment of the AfCFTA's broader aim of economic integration across the continent.

There have been significant changes in the GATT / WTO system, one of them is its expansion in membership. The regime has up grown from its original 22 founding members to over 140 at the turn of the 20th century. The enlargement has led to the fundamental change in the character of the regime. In the early years the GATT / WTO was perceived of by China as a “Rich Nations’ Club” or “the Club of the Rich,” in which wealthy countries imposed rules on poor and weak developing countries. By the year 2000, the WTO included a majority of developing countries, many of which are among the poorest countries of the world. Furthermore, with the inclusion of China and Russia, the WTO community included all the major nations of the world, even those that were previously uninterested in open trade and thus stayed outside the trade regime. The paper in the above context begins with a brief history of China’s accession to the WTO, including a review of China’s objectives and motivations in joining. It reviews how its entry has supported its substantial growth and further integration into the global economy in terms of trade patterns and other economic indicators such as FDI along with regulations governing IPRs in tune with the WTO obligations. A brief portrait of comparison of Chinese economy with Indian economy is also laid down because both are leading emerging market developing economies — one is the Dragon and the other the Elephant.