ABSTRACT
It is increasingly recognized in the international trade discourse that trade must become more inclusive. One mechanism often used at the WTO to help ease the burden of trade liberalization for less-developed countries, and achieve more inclusive outcomes, is special and differential treatment. Yet, the African continental presents a very different context to the WTO in which the appropriateness of approaches to special and differential treatment differs. This chapter assesses the case for special and differential treatment in the AfCFTA and evaluates the particular provisions provided for it in the AfCFTA. It concludes with recommendations to ensure that, in implementing the AfCFTA, Africa’s less-developed countries can be supported to gain meaningfully from the AfCFTA and benefit from its provisions on special and differential treatment.
