Julien Gourdon is an Economist at CEPII, Paris. He holds a PhD in Economics from Université d'Auvergne (CERDI), Clermont-Ferrand. Julien is specialised in International Trade and Development Economics. His main topics of interest are trade policies, exports competitiveness, trade and income inequalities, and the impact evaluation of trade assistance projects. Formerly, he was Economist at the World Bank from 2006 to 2011, working in the Middle East/North Africa department and in the International Trade department.
For the African continental free trade area to become fully operational, it is essential for the 54 signatory countries to reach agreement on harmonisation of rules of origins – the ‘Made in Africa’ criteria to ensure that only bona fide African products will benefit from tariff concessions. This column reports on progress and the remaining challenges.