Malawi can trade with only about half of member states under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as many other economies have yet to conclude negotiations on tariff concessions and rules of origin. Rules of origin determine which goods qualify for preferential treatment, and delays in their finalisation have slowed broader implementation. An AfCFTA status of negotiations and ratification update published by Trader and LaW Centre show that as at January 2026, Malawi, alongside other 23 States, have gazetted their Provisional Schedules of Tariff Concessions, a key requirement for the commencement of preferential trade under the AfCFTA.
This legal step allows these countries to apply reduced or zero tariffs on eligible goods traded within the bloc. However, while 49 African countries have deposited their instruments of ratification, signaling political commitment to the AfCFTA, more than half of them are not yet able to trade preferentially because they have not gazetted their tariff schedules. Reads the update in part: “Preferential trade can only truly begin once negotiations on outstanding issues on Trade in Goods, such as tariff concessions and rules of origin, are concluded.
According to Article 23 of the AfCFTA Agreement, entry into force occurs 30 days after the 22nd instrument of ratification is deposited with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission— the designated depositary for this purpose. The Agreement entered into force on May 30 2019 for the 24 countries that had deposited their instruments of ratification by this date. Ministry of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism spokesperson Patrick Botha was yet to respond on the status of AFCFTA trading.
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However, in June last year, he indicated that the ministry was courting businesses to start trading in the Guided Trade Initiative, a pilot initiative to accelerate trading by enabling commercially meaningful trading and test the operations. Global think-tank ODI Global observed that delayed negotiations and subsequent lack of full implementation of the AfCFTA is hindering its potential to support industrialisation as more restrictive rules of origin often lead to higher compliance costs for businesses, resulting in low preference utilisation rates by firms. The AfCFTA is a trade pact that creates a harmonised and integrated continental market of 1.2 billion people in 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product valued at $3.4 trillion. The Malawi Government recognises the AfCFTA as an opportunity to achieve its goal of expanding and diversifying the export products and services at regional and global levels under the National Export Strategy II.
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