The African Continental Free Trade Area looks set to take effect in July during the next African Union Summit, according to a report in The East African. A total of 22 countries must ratify the agreement and submit their instruments of ratification, and 20 have done so, while another two have ratified but not yet submitted the paperwork. “The AfCFTA brings together a continental single market, which is expected to increase intra-African trade by 52 per cent come 2022, remove tariffs on 90 per cent of goods, liberalise services and tackle other barriers to intra-African trade,” the report said.

Algeria revised its list of goods subject to temporary safeguard duties, removing a 30 percent tax on tree nuts, according to an April 25 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture' Foreign Agricultural Service. The change, made April 21, is expected to expand the U.S. export market for nuts, peanuts, butter and dried fruits, USDA said. The move comes less than a month after Algeria announced it was lifting a 2018 import ban on about 850 products and replacing it with temporary safeguard duties (see 1904160013). USDA has called tree nuts a "key" U.S. export to Algeria, which has imported an average of $33 million worth of U.S. tree nuts over the 2009-2017 calendar years.

Algeria recently lifted an import ban it imposed in 2018 on about 850 products, replacing it with temporary safeguard duties on more than 1,000 food and industrial goods, according to an April 12 notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service. About 60 percent of those goods are food products, the notice said, with most of them being “processed and high value products.” While many of the goods U.S. exporters send to Algeria -- including “bulk and intermediate commodities” such as wheat, barley, corn, rice and soybeans -- are not included on Algeria’s temporary safeguard list, the list does include “tree nuts,” a “key” U.S. export to Algeria, the notice said. Algeria imported “an average of $33 million of tree nuts (almonds, walnuts and pistachios) from the United States” over the 2009-2017 calendar years, the notice said. The safeguard duties list shows “tree nuts are subject to 30 percent additional tax [i.e., the safeguard duty] to be added to the existing 30 percent custom duties plus the 19 percent of Value-Added Tax (VAT),” the notice said.

The U.S.-Egypt Trade and Investment Council discussed the need for Egyptian labor reforms, and the U.S.'s desire that Egypt improve intellectual property protection, implement the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement and that Egypt strengthen its border enforcement. The readout of the meeting, provided by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative late April 12, said the two countries are looking to promote greater reciprocal market access for agricultural and industrial goods. "In this vein, the United States and Egypt are collaborating on the development of scientific, risk-based food safety practices consistent with international guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius Commission," USTR said. The U.S. praised Egypt for relaxing domestic ownership requirements for express shipping companies and Egypt's decision to accept U.S. motor vehicle safety standards. Between the Generalized System of Preferences and Qualifying Industrial Zones programs, about $1 billion of Egyptian exports to the U.S. enter duty free, USTR said.

A new single market covering most of Africa is now set to take effect, but several roadblocks remain in the way before full implementation, according to an alert from the British law firm Freshfields. The Gambia became the 22nd country to ratify the agreement April 2, triggering the 22-country threshold for the agreement coming into force 30 days after all 22 ratifications are filed with the African Union. The planned single market and eventual customs union has been signed by 52 African countries, although the largest economy in Africa, Nigeria, declined to join. Despite some optimism surrounding the agreement, which reportedly could double trade within Africa if tariffs are eliminated and non-tariff barriers are reduced, there’s still some work to be done. A schedule of tariff concessions still needs to be developed, as do annexes on trade in services, among other parts of the agreement. The remaining portions are “expected to be concluded by 2020,” the alert said.

A timber conglomerate backed by a prominent Chinese national is illegally extracting timber from Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, watchdog group Environmental Investigation Agency said in a March 25 news release. The Dejia Group is alleged to have supplied timber to the U.S. and "other countries where the importation of illegally sourced timber is a crime, including France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Greece," the EIA said. U.S. authorities are currently investigating possible Lacey Act violations related to the use of veneers from Evergreen Hardwoods Inc. (see 1903190027), which EIA said is a major importer of Dejia Group timber. “The Dejia-Evergreen case demonstrates the need for US authorities to routinely check due diligence systems, and to vigorously enforce the Lacey Act,” said Lisa Handy, director of EIA’s Forest Campaign. “Otherwise, illegal timber will continue to flow into the US, and American consumers will remain unwitting supporters of devastating forest crime.” The EU should consider all timber products from the Republic of the Congo and Gabon high risk under the EU Timber Regulations, EIA said in recommendations based on the report.

Tunisia updated its list of items that are not allowed to be freely traded, according to a March 1 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The purpose of the list is to “control the trade of subsidized products and/or products subject to internal price controls,” the report said. Items on the list include livestock, honey, poultry, vegetables, fruit, grain, “fishery products” and wine, USDA said.

South Africa recently raised its tariff on beet and cane sugar to 4.0179 ZAR ($0.28) per kilogram, according to a notice in its Government Gazette. The tariff increase applies to subheadings 1701.12, 1701.13, 1701.14, 1701.91 and 1701.99.The tariff had been 3.6957 ZAR ($0.26) per kilogram since December. "The SARS uses a variable tariff formula in order to adjust the import duty to a dollar-based reference price (DBRP)," Global Trade Alert said in a note on the tariff increase. "The DBRP represents the lowest duty-free price an importer pays in order to import goods to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). In case the price dips below the DBRP, a duty is levied."

A trade embargo on Qatar by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt remains in effect, despite some recent reports that restrictions had been loosened, law firm Baker McKenzie said in a blog post. Those reports were based on readings of circulars from UAE ports that were “inaccurate and misconstrued,” and the UAE Federal Customs Authority says there “has been no recent development in relation to the Qatar boycott,” the blog post said. “In light of these statements and until further information becomes available or the situation is further clarified by the [UAE Federal Transport Authority] or the customs authorities in the UAE, parties should continue to operate on the basis that there has been no relief or relaxation of the boycott whether on the part of the UAE or Qatar,” Baker McKenzie said.