The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) says president Buhari’s signing of the continental free trade deal, got the backing and recommendations of the association.
In a document seen by BusinessDay and singed by MAN’s Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the manufacturers association noted that the federal government did carried out extensive consultation with private sector players in the country and specific study appraisal to assess the potential impact of the agreement on the manufacturing sector in particular and the Nigerian economy in general before signing the trade agreement.
“We are glad to note that the Federal Government did carry out an all-inclusive nationwide consultation and conducted a country-specific study on the potential impact of AfCFTA,” Kadiri said.
“In addition, a Presidential Steering Committee on Impact and Readiness Assessment (PSCIRA) of the AfCFTA was set up to guide Government on how to independently assess the benefits and risks of the AfCFTA contract to Nigeria and to propose short, medium and long-term measures to manage them,” he added.
According to him, MAN actively participated at the Steering Committee level as well as the technical working group and it was based on the outcome of these processes that the President was advised before he did append his signature at the just concluded Extra-Ordinary Session of the African Union.
On July 7th 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement at the African Union (AU) Extra Ordinary Meeting held in Niamey, Niger Republic, making Africa’s largest economy become the 53rd country in the continent to sign the trade deal.
Upon implementation, the deal would lead to the removal of tariffs on 90 percent of goods produced by 2020 while 10 percent of traded goods are expected to be phased in later. Similarly, it will ease non-tariff barriers to trade on the continent and provide economies of scale as firms try to sell to the bigger African market, leading to increased efficiency.
For The 76-year old President, for every party involved in the trade deal to benefit, the Agreement should carry with it a manufacturing agenda for the continent and also, that the goods to be traded should be made-in-Africa products.
He noted that there should be commitment of all parties to comply with the rules of origin and operate in a fair manner to get the continent to the level specified in the Agreement.
According to the DG of MAM, there were also several conditions that the steering committee advised should accompany Nigeria’s consent, which he said he believes, had been taken on board.
He added that to secure the necessary safeguards required to ensure that Nigeria’s domestic policies and programs are not compromised, that the committee recommended the number of measures including the introduction of explicit rules on import quota restrictions; adoption of a common Market Access Offer for Trade in Goods and Trade in Services for ECOWAS, including synchronized Sensitive and Exclusive Lists; adoption of the common Market Access Offer for Trade in Goods to replace and supersede the 2013 ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), which according to him created vulnerabilities for Nigerian industry and manufacturing; and adoption of appropriate continental customs cooperation and other mechanisms to tackle predatory trade.
He however suggested the need for the establishment of the National Action Committee (NAC) on AfCFTA to coordinate relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies of Government and relevant Private Sector Groups to drive the implementation of the agreement’s readiness projects and initiatives as the initial decision of the Committee to the President was to append his signature to the agreement premised on the above stated conditions and it is hoped that these were duly attached to the President’s signature.
He urged the government to initiate policies that would encourage startups in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise as the sector contributes over 80 percent of the Gross Domestic product. He said if the SMEs are properly incentivized it would assist in revamping production and total exports of the country.
MICHAEL ANI
