Ethiopia Declines To Omit Coffee From AfCFTA Tariffs – CoffeeTalk

Ethiopia has taken a decisive step toward joining the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) after years of hesitation. The country has published regulations in the Negarit Gazette outlining which goods and services will benefit from tariff concessions. The 419-page document approved by the Council of Ministers sets out tariff schedules covering almost 6,000 products identified under AfCFTA. As the continental agreement requires, 90% of goods fall into Category A, slated for immediate zero tariffs. Seven percent, grouped under Category B, will be phased out over a decade, while three percent grouped under Category C, are permanently exempt, usually to protect national champions. Ethiopia’s regulation makes public only its Category A list, underscoring the sensitivity of what the country intends to shield.

Ethiopia has chosen not to include coffee, the country’s emblematic export and a cornerstone of its global trade identity, in its liberalized list. Other excluded products are sesame, khat, banking, and telecom services, sectors where Ethiopia remains cautious about foreign competition. Instead, the list favors agricultural inputs, fertilizer, cement, alcohol, cotton, and processed leather. In doing so, the government signals confidence in some domestic industries while protecting others deemed too strategically or economically sensitive to expose to full continental competition.

For Africa at large, Ethiopia’s choices echo a wider dilemma confronting many member states: how to balance the promise of a unified market with the political and economic impulse to guard national interests. AfCFTA was conceived to boost intra-African trade, which remains stubbornly below 20% of the continent’s total commerce. By lowering barriers, the deal aims to unlock economies of scale, drive industrialization, and strengthen Africa’s bargaining power globally. However, if too many countries withhold their most competitive goods and services from liberalization, the transformative potential of the pact could be diluted.

Read More @ ASM