44 African countries have signed a landmark free trade pact to simplify tax and non-tax rules for trading between their borders.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is intended to combine an African market of more than 1.2 billion people, with the cost of doing business between African nations typically higher than trading with trade partners outside of Africa, such as with the EU.
Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zambia declined to participate in the free trade agreement.