African Union Priorities at the WTO

The African Union’s (AU) priorities at the WTO reflect the priorities of the WTO’s African member states that the multilateral trading system should contribute to the economic development of their economies through the elaboration of equitable, fair and development-friendly rules. The position of the AU is consistent with the recently adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which also see trade as being critical to achieving the goal of eradicating extreme poverty everywhere. The AU’s priority is, therefore, to see WTO outcomes that serve to facilitate the structural economic transformation and development of developing and least-developed African countries in line with the vision of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.