Two months after over 40 nations signed a framework agreement for an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), signatories are now beginning the ratification process, while also looking at the technical work needed to make the area a reality. However, analysts note that many steps remain before the deal can be fully ratified and implemented. Before the agreement can take effect, negotiators need to prepare a list of product-specific rules of origin, determine how several aspects of modalities regarding both goods and services will be applied in practice, and develop and agree on their respective schedules of commitments. (See Bridges Weekl y , 22 March 2018 ) The AfCTFA was launched on 21 March during an extraordinary summit of the African Union (AU) in Kigali, Rwanda, with the signing of the AfCFTA by African leaders from 44 countries. The version endorsed in March included a framework agreement as well as protocols on trade in goods, trade in services, and dispute settlement, along with various annexes and other legal texts. At the time, officials said that a second phase of negotiations that would tackle other outstanding issues, such as investment and intellectual property rights, would begin within a few months. If...