In this book, I discuss the legal framework that undergirds African Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), both on their own terms as well as in the context of their relationship to the multilateral trading system. I argue that it is important to understand African RTAs on their own terms, because they have contextualizing imperatives grounded in African history, politics and realities that defy being strapped into the straitjacket of European or other non-African experiences. Thus, while African, like other RTAs, must necessarily be evaluated for their consistency or inconsistency with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) non-discriminatory trade rules, this book shows that one cannot overlook the particular nature of African RTAs.

In addition, this book seeks to fill a major gap in the literature on African trading arrangements as legal regimes. While there has been increased attention on Africa in the international trading system, this is one of the first book-length analyses of African RTAs as legal regimes. This book therefore seeks to fill the gap in writing about the legal framework of African RTAs as much as I hope it challenges students and teachers interested in international trade in Africa to carry forward the task of continuing to put into print analysis of the legal framework of African trading systems.