The ATPC supports states in the process of trade integration.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is often summarized as a trade agreement designed to reduce barriers between African countries. In reality, its implementation requires a much broader undertaking. States must adapt their regulations, train their administrations, support businesses, modernize their customs systems, and negotiate common rules on topics as diverse as services, investment, and digital trade. It is in this context that the African Trade Policy Centre (ATTC), a specialized agency of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), operates, tasked with supporting governments in carrying out these reforms.

Established in 2003 and based in Addis Ababa at the ECA headquarters, the ATPC does not finance member states and does not participate directly in trade negotiations. Its mission is to provide them with economic analyses, decision-making tools, training, and technical assistance to strengthen their capacity to negotiate and implement trade policies.

Its role took on a new dimension with the entry into force of the AfCFTA on May 30, 2019, followed by the official launch of preferential trade on January 1, 2021. This agreement now includes 54 of the 55 member states of the African Union, making it the world's largest free trade area in terms of participating countries. According to the World Bank, its full implementation could increase the continent's income by $450 billion by 2035 and lift nearly 30 million people out of extreme poverty.

These prospects, however, hinge on one essential condition. Signing an agreement is not enough to increase trade. Government agencies must also draft implementing regulations, adapt customs procedures, harmonize certain regulations, and support businesses so that they can effectively benefit from the new tariff preferences.

It is precisely on these issues that the ATPC works. The Centre conducts impact studies, develops economic models, assists governments in preparing their national strategies relating to the AfCFTA and organizes training for negotiators, officials from ministries of trade and customs administrations.

One of its most influential contributions concerns the analysis of African value chains. ECA economists regularly point out that the development of intra-African trade depends less on tariff reductions alone than on countries' capacity to produce more processed goods. Exporting raw cocoa, cotton, or minerals generally generates less added value than manufacturing chocolate, textiles, or industrial components for the continental market.

The ATPC also participates in work on the new areas covered by the AfCFTA. Negotiations no longer focus solely on goods. They now encompass services, investment, competition policy, intellectual property rights, e-commerce, and the role of women and youth in commerce. These topics require increasingly specialized legal and economic expertise, which the Centre helps to develop within African administrations.

Senegal is among the countries that have benefited from this support. ATPC experts participated in the preparatory work for the national strategy to implement the AfCFTA, in collaboration with the Senegalese authorities, the ECA, and several technical partners. The objective is to identify the sectors most likely to benefit from the opening of the continental market, such as agri-food, construction materials, services, and manufacturing.

The Centre's work also relies on quantitative analysis tools. Simulations carried out by the ECA make it possible to estimate the expected effects of tariff reductions, customs reforms, or the reduction of non-tariff barriers on trade, public revenue, and employment. This work then serves as a basis for government decision-making.

Finally, the ATPC maintains close cooperation with the AfCFTA Secretariat, the African Union, the African Development Bank, Afreximbank, and the regional economic communities. This coordination aims to prevent trade reforms from being conducted in isolation and to foster a common approach among the various institutions involved in the continent's economic integration.

Trade agreements rarely take effect immediately after signing. They require years of administrative preparation, regulatory adaptation, and support for businesses. The work of the ATPC is part of this process. The Centre does not negotiate agreements on behalf of states, but it provides them with the analyses and tools necessary to transform legal commitments into public policies that can strengthen intra-African trade.

As the AfCFTA enters a more operational phase, this expertise becomes increasingly valuable. The competitiveness of African economies will depend not only on the opening of trade borders, but also on the ability of governments to implement coherent reforms and of businesses to seize the new opportunities offered by the continental market.