LUSAKA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Zambia has officially gazetted its Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, said a statement released on Monday.

It means that Zambia was ready to begin trading under the African trading arrangement following the introduction of a statutory instrument, the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry said in the statement.

The move also allows Zambia to expand its preferential market access beyond the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Southern African Development Community, it said.

"Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry is encouraging the private sector to take advantage of this opportunity to enhance trade and businesses," the statement said.

According to the statement, AfCFTA tariff concessions include three categories: A, B, and C. The gazetted Provisional Schedule of Tariff Concessions covers category A, which includes 90 percent of non-sensitive tariff lines with a 10-year phase-down period ending in 2030.

The AfCFTA is Africa's flagship initiative to create a single market of about 1.3 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of about 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars.

It provides a framework for tariff reductions, trade in services, investment promotion, digital trade, competition policy, and intellectual property rights. Enditem

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