Advancing the AfCFTA Agenda in South Africa: Insights and Future Prospects

Adelia Jansen van Rensburg () and Marie-Luce Kuhn ()
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Adelia Jansen van Rensburg: School of Economic Sciences, North-West University
Marie-Luce Kuhn: School of Economic Sciences, North-West University

Chapter Chapter 12 in From Policy to Practice: Challenges and Ways Forward on the Implementation of the AfCFTA, 2026, pp 247-274 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This paper assesses South Africa’s strategic role in advancing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and evaluates how it can optimise the agreement’s benefits for continental integration. Although South Africa was instrumental in shaping the AfCFTA framework, its ability to fully leverage the agreement is constrained by persistent domestic challenges, including energy insecurity, infrastructure deficits, and limited industrial capacity. These weaknesses threaten competitiveness and risk diminishing South Africa’s influence in the wider regional market. The paper reviews the status of AfCFTA negotiations and implementation and identifies key opportunities for South Africa to diversify exports and deepen regional value chains. To translate these opportunities into tangible outcomes, the study advances a trade policy strategy built around a three-tiered framework: foundational structural reforms and industrial development, measures to strengthen trade and investment capacity, and supporting diplomatic and institutional interventions to drive regional integration. The study concludes with policy recommendations to ensure South Africa’s effective and sustained engagement with the AfCFTA, reinforcing both national competitiveness and Africa’s broader integration agenda.

Keywords: Regional integration; The AfCFTA; South African trade policy; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-14051-7_12

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-14051-7_12

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