Inclusive Trade in Africa, the first book dedicated to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), opens what will surely be a rich academic debate on trade liberalisation in Africa. With all but one African Union (AU) member state now party to the agreement and 30 ratifications, AfCFTA's initial progress has surprised many sceptics. The success of the agreement suggests a broader perspective on inclusive trade and economic policy in Africa, which this volume aspires to deliver.

The book is guided by the question of how to best implement AfCFTA in order to deliver inclusive intra-African trade. Unlike many other free trade agreements (FTAs), even the most developed parties to AfCFTA face steep domestic challenges. This makes the developmental benefits of AfCFTA as much an important and novel endeavour as the traditional benefits of trade liberalisation. Most contributors to the edited volume are practitioners from the UN and other international organisations. UNECA is strongly represented – the editors too are UNECA staff members – and the book reflects the organisation's intellectual leadership on AfCFTA. Although largely written by trade lawyers and experts, it is still accessible to non-economists.

The book comprises three sections. The first considers the comparative lessons to be learnt from economic integration efforts in Africa, the Americas and Southeast Asia. The second part delves into key concepts within AfCFTA, including special and differential treatment, rules of origin, and aid for trade, with an emphasis on how these principles need to be interpreted differently than at the World Trade Organization. These chapters are quite general and engage with AfCFTA only briefly. The third part discusses the ongoing Phase II negotiations of the agreement, with chapters on competition policy and intellectual property rights. Consequently, the volume serves as a comprehensive reference work on AfCFTA's history, drivers and challenges.

There is much to commend in this volume. The first, comparative section is perhaps the most innovative contribution to the academic debate around AfCFTA. Instead of the overused and typically unhelpful comparisons with European economic integration, it highlights the successes and failures of integration efforts in Africa, the Americas and Southeast Asia, and identifies important lessons for AfCFTA. Understanding past trade liberalisation efforts in Africa, and the reasons for their failures, will be crucial for the successful implementation of AfCFTA. However, more systematic and in-depth analysis of African case studies would have been welcome, for example on the continuing challenges of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) or the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) experience with its customs union.

The strengths and timeliness of this book notwithstanding, the authors could have delivered more regarding the inclusivity of AfCFTA. While the contributions prioritise legal and institutionalist perspectives, there is little emphasis on the policy reality of AfCFTA and trade in Africa. Sodipo's chapter on AfCFTA governance is a welcome exception to this tendency. The 2018 Global Forum on Inclusive Trade highlighted the need for ‘pro-poor and inclusive’ trade policies that prioritise small and medium-sized enterprises, women and youth. This call could have been heeded more thoroughly in this volume: AfCFTA's inclusivity will depend on its impact on informal cross-border trade, the movement of people, non-tariff barriers and accelerated customs processes. Institutionally, an effective dispute settlement body and political consensus on intercontinental exports will be decisive for AfCFTA's success. These aspects would have made for a more complete assessment of AfCFTA's potential to bring inclusive trade and development to Africa.

Overall, this book is very useful for readers seeking to familiarise themselves with the more intricate aspects of trade law and economics in Africa, and for those wishing to understand the origins and impetus of AfCFTA. Despite its limitations, Inclusive Trade in Africa will inspire a lively academic debate on the completion and implementation of AfCFTA.