Afreximbank Trade Policy Brief: A Year in Review 2021

In this final Afreximbank Trade Policy Brief for 2021, we review an extraordinary year and major developments in African and global trade policy. While African countries forged ahead with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the global trade policy space remained contentious with divisions between developed and developing economies at the multilateral level exacerbated by the socio-economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and approaches to addressing climate change. This was evidenced by challenges in securing a temporary waiver of certain obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and differing views on energy transition and adaptation to address climate change.