EPAs: business as usual after the financial crisis?
The world economy is suffering a deep crisis. The financial meltdown of the most powerful banks and funds push former liberalist governments as European and USA ones to invest huge amount of money to revitalize their economies with public support and nationalization’s strategies.
EU, for instance, created an European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF) to help members to compensate their enterprises and workers who will lose their jobs and salary because of the fierce international competition and of the wild speculations which affect trade and markets.
However EU is continuing, on the other hand, to force ACP countries to open their markets still pushing them to sign EPAs agreements exposing their fragile economies and industrial sectors to this turmoil. On comment for all: Bharrat Jagdeo, president of Guyana which joined the EU and the other 13 Caribbean countries that signed the EPA in Barbados: “the only reason I’m going to sign this agreement is if Europe imposed GSP on my country, because I don’t have a choice. My exports are vulnerable, but outside of that, I will never subscribe to such an agreement”.
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