Support to the AfCFTA Secretariat in the area of Trade in Services

Junior Expert to support to the AfCFTA Secretariat in the area of Trade in Services

Background

After only 3.5 years of free trade negotiations amongst all 55 African countries, the African Continental Free Trade Area, in brief AfCFTA, was established. The AfCFTA was operationalised on 30th May 2019, 30 days after Sierra Leone and Sahara Republic deposited the last two necessary ratifications with the African Union (AU) for the AfCFTA to legally come into force for the ratifying countries. As of January 2020, 54 countries have signed the agreement and 28 countries have deposited their instrument of ratification. This landmark agreement offers significant promise for the continent’s transformation.

The AfCFTA will create a single African economic space of potentially 55 Member States (MS), comprising more than 1.2 billion people, and with a total GDP in excess of US$2.5 trillion. Services sectors contribute on average fifty percent (50%) to the GDP of African economies. The Protocol on Trade in Services (TiS) is an integral part of the AfCFTA Agreement, and under its auspices, a hybrid approach is taken to liberalization, with commitments being undertaken by State Parties through Schedules of Specific Commitments on the one hand, and broad regulatory frameworks for cooperation, in specific priority services sectors.

GIZ, on behalf of the German government, supports the AfCFTA through the GIZ Support project to the AfCFTA (GIZ AfCFTA). GIZ AfCFTA supports the AU Commission (AUC) Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry, Mining (ETTIM) as well as the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana in the AfCFTA negotiations and implementation.

In 2020, the AfCFTA Secretariat was established as a new AU Organ in Accra, Ghana to manage and oversee the establishment of the AfCFTA. To effectively manage the negotiation of TiS commitments and prepare their implementation, the AfCFTA Secretariat Directorate of Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Trade is seeking technical support through a Junior Trade in Services expert to support its work.

Number of work days: 180

Period of assignment: From 01. September 2022 until 31. August 2023

Before submitting any bid, interested bidders should collect further bidding documents by contacting the e-mail address: [email protected] mentioning the processing number and title 83412308 Junior Expert