EPAS TO AFFECT TRADE AMONG ACP NATIONS
Economist Kelvin Kamayoyo has said that trade amongst African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries is likely to be reduced as a result of trade diversion if the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are signed with the European Union (EU).
2010-05-27 Zinyama, Fridah (The Post Online, Lusaka)
The EPAs are ideally expected to promote regional integration due to expanded market coverage for both parties.
Zambia is currently negotiating an EPA under the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) group of countries. Among all six negotiating groups, only the Caribbean Forum had concluded a full or comprehensive EPA covering trade in goods and services, as well as a host of other trade-related areas such as competition policy and intellectual property, by 2008.
Kamayoyo, who gave his personal views on the EPAs, said the ability of the manufacturing industry to grow shall also be threatened.
EPAs are no longer a free trade arrangement because individual countries are forging ahead to sign the EPAs contrary to their regional visions of customs union agenda, he said. By so doing, the agreement would result not in a free trade pact but rather a bilateral trade agreement based on a single state and not a territorial customs union.
“ACP countries and in particular African countries must hasten regional integration processes to build and consolidate supply side capabilities before opening up to the EU,” he said.
Kamayoyo said that if the EPAs were to be supportive of development and regional integration in Africa, this would require extensive technical and financial support from the EU and other cooperating partners.
“As for the EU, they have to ensure that both EDF [European Development Fund] and EPAs development envelopes are timely disbursed and properly utilised,” he said. “Therefore some transitional protection (safeguards) for local producers should be negotiated, for longer transitional periods (30 years) beyond current proposals,” he added.
Kamayoyo said the EU should face the reality and appreciate the fact that the EPAs are not going to create a fair and enabling environment capable of buttressing flying regional integration for most ACP countries’ regional economic communities for as long as they continue to offer subsidies to their industries.
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