In depth

Nigeria is not ready to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) aimed to liberalise trade between Africa, the European Union (EU), Carribean and Pacific countries, Minister of Commerce and Indsutry Chief Achike Udenwa said yesterday. Briefing Senate Committee on Commerce on the delay in signing the agreement, Chief Udenwa said government is being cautious due to the adverse economic impact the EPA is likely to make on the economy of the country. The minister said any free trade agreement between Africa and EU is bound to have negative impact of the economy of the latter because "What do we export to Europe, if you look at it we can only export primary products which cannot even compete favourably.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms. Hanna Tetteh has urged stakeholders attending a forum on Ghana’s Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) to consider details of all aspects of the agreement to give a clear guidance.

From 27 to 29 April 2009 European and Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) negotiators met at technical and senior levels in Brussels. This followed the EU-ESA ministerial meeting held in Lusaka in early April. All outstanding issues, as well as rules of origin and trade in services, were addressed by senior officials, with a view of signing the interim (goods-only) EPA initialled at the end of 2007 and go forward with "full" EPA negotiations. Outstanding issues, to be resolved within full EPA negotiations, include export taxes, quantitative restrictions, infant industry and provisions on modifications of commitments. The Commission, as discussed in Lusaka, addressed all items with the necessary flexibility, and is pleased ESA confirmed its intention to go ahead with signing the interim EPA and concluding full EPA negotiations.

The joint technical negotiating meeting scheduled to be held in Brussels the week of 20 April has been postponed at Central Africa’s request.

A watershed meeting between Namibian Trade and Industry Minister Hage Geingob and his peers from six other countries from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will take place in Gaborone next Wednesday to try and reach consensus on signing the controversial interim economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho and Swaziland will also attend the one-day meeting, Charles Mubita, Manager: Media, Publications and Public Affairs of the SADC Secretariat, confirmed from the Botswana capital yesterday. The EU will not be present at the meeting. Mubita described the event as “an internal meeting” which will try to establish a “common understanding” on the EPAs.

MBABANE—The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is celebrating the rejection of European Union-SADC Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) negotiations by the governments of South Africa and Angola.

The Southern African EPA region comprises Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa. The latter five form the South African Customs Union, and all belong to the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC). The eight other SADC members - DR Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe - are negotiating in different regional EPA configurations.

“Time is not on our side,” wrote the EU Trade Commissioner to SADC Trade Ministers at the end of March 2009, following their joint meeting days earlier. During their meeting, agreement, in principle, was reached on most of the main concerns expressed by South Africa, Namibia, and Angola (i.e., quantitative restrictions, special treatment for Lesotho, food security, free circulation of goods, infant industry, export taxes). Here too, the European Commission proposed that the two remaining outstanding issues—identification of parties and the most favoured nation clause—be discussed in the framework of the negotiations towards a final EPA.

As the negotiations for the first phase of the SADC EPA moves closer to conclusion the next challenge arises; to provide for proper domestic and regional implementation measures. One of the first tasks will be to put in place structures and procedures to assist the private sector (and local governments) with respect to trade remedies.

The economic partnerships agreements (EPAs) will push African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries ''deeper'' into poverty and negatively affect the livelihoods of people living in ACP countries. These trade deals ''will prevent'' African countries from achieving the United Nations' millennium development goals (MDGs). Several speakers at a two-day workshop on EPAs in Johannesburg, South Africa, were in agreement that the EPAs will do more harm than good to ACP countries.