Okyere Baafi rejects Mahama’s Zero-Tariff deal with China, urges focus on AfCFTA

The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Trade and Industry Committee, Michael Okyere Baafi, has criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s proposal for a zero-tariff trade agreement with China, arguing that Ghana should instead channel its efforts into maximizing the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking to the media, Okyere Baafi, who also represents New Juaben South in Parliament, insisted that Ghana does not “necessarily need zero-tariff access to the Chinese market as being trumpeted by President Mahama.”

He contended that rather than pursuing new bilateral trade pacts outside the continent, the government should prioritize strengthening intra-African trade through the AfCFTA, which has already been signed by 54 of the 55 African countries.

President Mahama, at the 2025 China-Africa Summit, announced that Ghana would sign a zero-tariff access agreement with China by the end of October 2025 — a move he described as an opportunity to give Ghanaian exports free entry into China’s vast market.

However, Okyere Baafi — a former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry under the Akufo-Addo administration — argued that the decision could undermine Africa’s collective trade agenda and “ruin the gains made for the advancement of African trade.”

He stressed that promoting trade within Africa would build stronger, more self-reliant economies across the continent.

“We must focus on trading among ourselves to foster economic independence rather than over-relying on external markets,” he said.

Citing trade statistics, Okyere Baafi warned that Ghana’s current trade dynamics with China are already heavily skewed in Beijing’s favour. Between 2020 and 2024, China’s exports to Ghana rose by 46 percent, while Ghana’s exports to China grew by only 11 percent.

“China stands to benefit tremendously from such arrangements,” he said. “A zero-tariff deal would only deepen the existing imbalance and place Ghana at a further disadvantage.”

The Ranking Member urged the government to leverage the AfCFTA’s vast market of 54 African nations to boost Ghanaian exports and manufacturing capacity.

“That approach will yield far greater benefits for local producers and exporters than agreements that offer little reciprocal advantage,” he concluded.