Welcome. This is Anastasia Yuglova bringing you the Cato Daily Podcast.

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Africa is one of the most protectionist regions in the world with high tariff and non-tariff barriers

that prevent Africa from reaping the benefits of free trade.

It is hypocritical for African leaders to call for greater access to global markets while rejecting

trade openness at home.

At a forum on Friday, Andrew Mitchell, member of Parliament and Shadow Secretary of State for

International Development, proposed a pan-African free trade agreement to

liberalize intra-African trade. In today's podcast he answers some questions

about his plan.

Can you explain your support for a pan-African trading area?

Yes, it's really born out of the current state of the WTO negotiations.

It doesn't run counter to the WTO negotiations.

But it's trying to explain that there is a huge amount of trading

that could take place between countries in Africa,

South, South trade, if you like, and we need to facilitate that.

There are all sorts of blockages.

Some of them are tariff blockages.

Some of them are physical blockages.

But what I'm doing today is making the case for a free trade area across Africa, which would allow a lot of intra-African trade to take place and which would help to lift Africa out of the poverty in which so many of its people now live.

How much of African trade is currently comprised of trade with other African countries?

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