The Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was signed in Kigali, Rwanda on 21 March 2018 by the Heads of State and Government of Africa. This historic act created one of the largest Free Trade Areas in the world, with an area covering 54 countries and connecting 1.2 billion people. The trade exchanges that will be generated by the AfCFTA will most certainly have a major impact on the economic development of the African con􀆟nent. This will notably include increasing and strengthening intra-African trade, as well as promo􀆟ng both intra and external African investment.

The AfCFTA, in accordance with the Agreement, proposes a gradual scheme for the liberalisation of trade, taking into account the nature of the goods and their relative contribution to the country's economy as well as the level of development of each country. Thus, it has been decided that, for the 􀆟me being, 90% of tariff lines are to be liberalized. This concerns "non-sensitive" products. The products classified as "sensitive" cover 7% of tariff lines and will be liberalized a􀅌er an adjustment period that should not exceed 10 years (13 years for the Least Developed Countries or LDCs). The remaining 3% of products will not be liberalized and will con􀆟nue to benefit from the protection scheme defined by each country. It goes without saying that such a liberalisation of trade throughout Africa represents clear opportunities, especially for developing countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, which are pursuing a profound structural transformation in order to become emerging countries.