South Africa officially kicked off trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) when the country joined the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative at the end of January 2024.

This enables exporters and importers to trade certain goods between certain countries under reduced tariffs as per the AfCFTA.

The Guided Trade Initiative is a pilot phase that allows for commercially meaningful trade under the AfCFTA while testing the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA. Download our Factsheet on Trading under the AfCFTA here