Legal and Regulatory Challenges in the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement Protocol on Trade in Services in Mozambique

Abstract

The Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) entered into force on 30 May 2019, and trade under the AfCFTA started on 1 January 2021. The AfCFTA adopted a Protocol on Trade in Services, which entered into force on 30 May 2019, with the aim of establishing a single market for services in Africa. Mozambique signed the AfCFTA Agreement on 23 March 2018 and is still in the process of legal review and harmonization of its domestic legislation to ratify and deposit the Agreement. This mini-dissertation examines the potential legal and regulatory challenges to overcome for the implementation of the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services, in Mozambique, with focus on the initial five (5) priority services: transport; communication; finance; tourism and business service. The research analyses the Mozambican legal framework for the following four (4) modes of supply of these priority services in international trade: cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and presence of natural persons in Mozambique. The Mozambican legal framework has too many measures affecting trade in services and market access. Before the country ratifies the AfCFTA Agreement, it is important to expedite the process of updating and harmonizing its legal framework for trade in services to accord with the best practices under the AfCFTA Protocol on Trade in Services. The research recommends that Mozambique must address the legal and regulatory challenges to supply of services and provide effective market access to boost intra-African trade in services. It further recommends that Mozambique must invest in capacity building and training of all public stakeholders and institutions in the trade area as well as the private sector.