Namibia eyes N$58 trillion AfCFTA markets amid AGOA turbulences
Namibia is recalibrating its trade posture toward the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as warning signs emerge over the country’s dependence on preferential access to the United States under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Speaker of the National Assembly Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila told the 58th Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum in South Africa this week that while Namibia has exported over 6,400 products duty-free to the US since 2001, recent tariff spikes - from 21% down to 15% - threaten to undercut those gains.
She said the US tariff shift illustrates a deeper vulnerability, where African exporters are exposed to abrupt external policy changes that can unsettle supply chains, squeeze export earnings and jeopardise jobs in AGOA-linked sectors.
“This is precisely why Namibia must build resilient, diversified markets,” Kuugongelwa-Amadhila stressed, signalling a pivot toward AfCFTA as the country’s next strategic platform for growth.
AfCFTA as a shock absorber
The speaker highlighted Namibia’s step-by-step shift - signing AfCFTA in 2018, ratifying it in 2019, and formalising its tariff offer in 2024 before commencing trade under the regime in June this year.
That transition became tangible when 45,000 tonnes of Namibian salt departed Walvis Bay for Nigeria - marking the country’s first official AfCFTA shipment. In November, Meatco dispatched its first export under the same agreement - two containers of Wet Blue Hides from its Okapuka tannery to Mombasa, Kenya. This was after Meatco secured a new Kenyan client who will process the hides into finished leather on a trial basis.
While modest in scale, the export is symbolically highly significant in Namibia’s push to make its presence felt in the US$3.4 trillion continental market that has long promised opportunities but has seen slow real-world uptake.
According to Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, AfCFTA now serves as “a strategic buffer against external shocks”, offering broader market access, regional industrialisation opportunities and Africa-based value chain participation.
But Kuugongelwa-Amadhila cautioned that AfCFTA’s benefits are not automatic. Parliamentary and regulatory work remains essential, including domestication of protocols, legislative alignment and industry readiness to meet Rules of Origin requirements. The fast-tracking of a National Tariff Board, she said, is central to directing tariff schedules, negotiations and sector-specific protections.
Critical minerals
The speaker linked Namibia’s move into the AfCFTA space with its mineral repositioning strategy. Export bans on unprocessed critical minerals, the pending Minerals Bill, the Mineral Beneficiation Strategy and an upcoming Local Content Policy are designed to shift the economy away from dependence on raw exports and into higher-value processing - an approach she noted will benefit from integrated African markets.
Speaker of the National Assembly Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila told the 58th Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum in South Africa this week that while Namibia has exported over 6,400 products duty-free to the US since 2001, recent tariff spikes - from 21% down to 15% - threaten to undercut those gains.
She said the US tariff shift illustrates a deeper vulnerability, where African exporters are exposed to abrupt external policy changes that can unsettle supply chains, squeeze export earnings and jeopardise jobs in AGOA-linked sectors.
“This is precisely why Namibia must build resilient, diversified markets,” Kuugongelwa-Amadhila stressed, signalling a pivot toward AfCFTA as the country’s next strategic platform for growth.
AfCFTA as a shock absorber
The speaker highlighted Namibia’s step-by-step shift - signing AfCFTA in 2018, ratifying it in 2019, and formalising its tariff offer in 2024 before commencing trade under the regime in June this year.
That transition became tangible when 45,000 tonnes of Namibian salt departed Walvis Bay for Nigeria - marking the country’s first official AfCFTA shipment. In November, Meatco dispatched its first export under the same agreement - two containers of Wet Blue Hides from its Okapuka tannery to Mombasa, Kenya. This was after Meatco secured a new Kenyan client who will process the hides into finished leather on a trial basis.
While modest in scale, the export is symbolically highly significant in Namibia’s push to make its presence felt in the US$3.4 trillion continental market that has long promised opportunities but has seen slow real-world uptake.
According to Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, AfCFTA now serves as “a strategic buffer against external shocks”, offering broader market access, regional industrialisation opportunities and Africa-based value chain participation.
But Kuugongelwa-Amadhila cautioned that AfCFTA’s benefits are not automatic. Parliamentary and regulatory work remains essential, including domestication of protocols, legislative alignment and industry readiness to meet Rules of Origin requirements. The fast-tracking of a National Tariff Board, she said, is central to directing tariff schedules, negotiations and sector-specific protections.
Critical minerals
The speaker linked Namibia’s move into the AfCFTA space with its mineral repositioning strategy. Export bans on unprocessed critical minerals, the pending Minerals Bill, the Mineral Beneficiation Strategy and an upcoming Local Content Policy are designed to shift the economy away from dependence on raw exports and into higher-value processing - an approach she noted will benefit from integrated African markets.
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