The African Union (AU) deputy commissioner, Erastus Mwencha’s call that Africa should thoroughly scrutinize any trade deal before appending its signature is a manifestation that the continent’s negotiators are coming of age. The call comes in the wake of plans by the US government to introduce a new trade bill which is going to replace the existing seven year old African Growth and Opportunity Act.

In the past, Africa has sent armtwisted politicians (specifically representing ruling elites) and emotional activists on the negotiating table. Most times, the negotiators have lacked a specific agenda. Whereas they have decried food subsidies for example, they ironically clamour for cheap access to medicines from wealthy countries. If subsidies are bad outside Africa, subsidies are bad inside Africa. Such negotiators are no match for their seasoned, well prepared and measurement oriented counterparts.

Incompetent negotiators have seen the continent remain a cheap exporter of  raw materials (whose price it can not control) to developed nations and importer of expensive finished goods in return. They have further fallen for the ‘aid for trade’ trap instead of  trade liberalization.

The poor want freedom to create wealth and access products at whatever price. With 'economic suitors' courting the continent from Europe,China, Japan, India and the US, Africa cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes. Rather than the AU stopping at  cautioning Africa against signing deals hurriedly, the continental body ought to take a bold step of  constituting a team of  well equipped African ‘frontline soldiers’ to advance the African agenda in trade talks and reverse the pattern that has perpetually glued the continent in shackles of poverty.