This document was presented at the Consultative Workshop on the Readiness Assessment Towards the African Customs Union and Common Market, organized by the African Union Commission (AUC), Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Energy, Industry and Minerals (ETTIM) in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2 to 4 December 2025. The workshop, supported technically and financially by the European Union (EU)-Technical Assistance Facility (TAF), aimed to consult key stakeholders and initiate preparations for a forthcoming Conference on the establishment of the African Customs Union and Common Market. The workshop brought together representatives of African Union Member States, African Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the EU-TAF.

This paper presents key findings and updates an earlier study mandated by a Decision adopted on February 2022 by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union [Assembly/AU/Dec.829(XXXV)], to assess Africa’s readiness for the establishment of a Customs Union and Common Market, in accordance with the Abuja Treaty (1991) establishing the African Economic Community (AEC).

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