tralac trade law centre

Building capacity to help Africa trade better

May 2026 tralac Newsletter

This newsletter brings together four recent research contributions from tralac on Africa’s changing trade environment in 2026. Taken together, they point to a more volatile, more discriminatory, and more data-sensitive global trading system.

The main message is not simply that African trade faces new risks; it is that the nature of those risks is changing.

SheGovernsTrade Development Program

Applications for the 2026 SheGovernsTrade Development Program are open! The objective of this program is to capacitate and empower especially young women policymakers as they contribute to enhance trade governance in Africa. It contributes to tralac’s work to mainstream gender in Africa’s trade policy and governance and complements tralac’s other training and stakeholder engagement programs.

The 2026 program runs from 15 July to 9 October. It is offered virtually with a one week in-person training component in Cape Town.

tralac Regional Resources

tralac maintains a collection of regional and national trade-related resources and policy documents, including copies of the texts and annexes of regional trade agreements from the African RECs, the AfCFTA, TFTA and African Union.

We also offer resources on Africa’s global trade relations, including the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU, BRICS trade, and US-Africa trade.

tralac Publications

tralac promotes active debate on trade law and policy issues in Africa. This involves monitoring trade negotiations, interpretation of agreements, contribution to debates and discussions on trade developments.

Our research is presented in trade briefs, working papers, trade reports and books, among others.