The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has unveiled the draft of the Protocol to the AfCFTA on Digital Trade during the Ninth Extraordinary Session of the Special Technical Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs held in Durban, South Africa. The purpose of the draft is to establish harmonised rules, common standards, and principles for digital trade in Africa.

The protocol applies to all digital trade measures adopted or maintained by State Parties. Digital trade has been defined as "digitally enabled transactions of trade in goods and services that can be either digitally or physically delivered".

The draft Protocol calls upon State Parties not to impose customs duties on digital products transmitted electronically, while respecting provisions on Rules of Origin. It introduces several trade facilitating measures, such as paperless trading, electronic contracts, electronic invoicing, digital identities and digital payments. It also recognises the need for cross-border data transfers by electronic means, subject to exceptions based on legitimate public policy objectives and security concerns. The notion of legitimate policy objectives will be detailed in an annex to be approved ulteriorly. This means that the full implementation of the protocol may not yet happen after the approval of the draft, but may depend on further regulation. The current draft of the Protocol is subject to potential changes before the final version is adopted.

Source: Legal News and Insights