The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has significantly advanced the conversation around market integration and industrial development across Africa. Tariff liberalization remains one of the agreement’s most visible achievements, creating new opportunities for manufacturers to access regional markets under more favourable trading conditions. However, the analysis by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) highlights a growing reality confronting Africa’s cotton, textile, and apparel (CTA) sector: while tariffs are gradually declining, a wide range of non-tariff barriers continue to constrain trade, limit competitiveness, and undermine the full realization of regional market opportunities.

The report argues that the future success of AfCFTA within the CTA sector will depend less on tariff reductions and more on the ability of African economies to address the operational and regulatory obstacles that continue to impede cross-border commerce. These barriers often receive less attention than tariffs because they are embedded within administrative systems, regulatory frameworks, logistics networks, and institutional processes. Yet their cumulative impact on trade costs and business performance can be substantial.

The report identifies several categories of non-tariff barriers affecting the CTA industry. These include cumbersome customs procedures, inconsistent standards and certification requirements, lengthy border clearance processes, weak transport connectivity, infrastructure deficiencies, and overlapping regulatory requirements. While each challenge may appear manageable in isolation, together they create a trading environment that discourages regional sourcing and reduces the efficiency of cross-border production systems.

The report further highlights the challenge of regulatory fragmentation across African markets. Although AfCFTA seeks to create a unified continental trading framework, differences in standards regimes, customs administration, quality assurance systems, and trade procedures continue to create barriers for firms seeking to operate across multiple countries. In practice, manufacturers often face a patchwork of requirements that increase compliance costs and reduce the commercial attractiveness of regional trade.

The analysis also draws attention to transport and logistics inefficiencies that continue to affect intra-African trade. High freight costs, poor road and rail connectivity, limited logistics infrastructure, and lengthy transit times reduce the competitiveness of regional supply chains. These challenges are especially problematic for textile and apparel production, where responsiveness and delivery reliability are increasingly important components of buyer expectations. As global sourcing systems become more time-sensitive, logistics performance is becoming as important as production capability itself.

For policymakers, the findings underscore the importance of moving beyond tariff negotiations toward implementation-focused reforms. Customs modernization, standards harmonization, digital trade facilitation systems, transport infrastructure investment, and regulatory coordination are becoming increasingly important components of competitiveness policy. The effectiveness of AfCFTA will ultimately depend on whether these operational barriers can be reduced sufficiently to support seamless regional commerce.

For manufacturers and exporters, the report reinforces the need to view market access through a broader lens. Preferential tariffs may create opportunities, but the ability to capitalize on those opportunities depends heavily on how efficiently products can move through the trading system. Companies that understand and navigate non-tariff barriers effectively are likely to be better positioned to participate in regional value chains and expand their export footprint.

The future success of Africa’s CTA sector will depend on creating a trading environment where that market access can be utilized efficiently, predictably, and at scale. As tariffs continue to fall under AfCFTA, the ability to address non-tariff barriers may become one of the most important determinants of whether regional industrialization ambitions can be achieved.

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