The ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) marked a landmark event in the quest to achieve intra-African free trade. AfCFTA is poised to represent the largest free trade area outside the World Trade Organization. Although AfCFTA aspires to liberalize intra-African trade in goods and services to foster socio-economic development, there are concerns that capacity constraints may stultify the underlying goals. AfCFTA is expected to build on the considerable successes already achieved by Africa's regional economic communities. However, it fails to clarify how the overlapping regimes will be reconciled and harmonized. Nevertheless, the agreement is laudable for its quest to facilitate intra-African trade, foster regional value chains that can facilitate integration into the global economy, and energize industrialization, competitiveness and innovation. This article examines the celebrated AfCFTA to understand its potential amid local realities and the possible implications for the multilateral trading system.

中文翻译：

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通过 AfCFTA 自由化区域贸易体制：挑战与机遇

非洲大陆自由贸易协定（AfCFTA）的批准标志着实现非洲内部自由贸易的里程碑事件。AfCFTA 有望代表世界贸易组织之外最大的自由贸易区。尽管 AfCFTA 渴望实现非洲内部商品和服务贸易自由化以促进社会经济发展，但有人担心能力限制可能会使基本目标变得愚蠢。AfCFTA 预计将在非洲区域经济共同体已经取得的巨大成功的基础上再接再厉。然而，它没有澄清如何协调和协调重叠的制度。然而，该协议因其寻求促进非洲内部贸易、培育能够促进融入全球经济的区域价值链而值得称赞，激发产业化、竞争力和创新活力。本文考察了著名的 AfCFTA，以了解其在当地现实中的潜力以及对多边贸易体系的可能影响。