Brussels, 30/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) countries expressed alarm in Brussels last week that the trade preferences they enjoy through the Cotonou Agreement (which links them to the EU) are being eroded under the effect of the free trade agreements (FTA) that have been sealed, or are being negotiated, between the EU and other regions.
The majority of ACP states are outside the framework of the economic partnership agreements (EPAs - agreements on the gradual liberalisation of trade between the EU and these developing ACP countries) and thus benefit from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), from the Everything But Arms initiative, and from the EU's normal GSP or from the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause.
The CARIFORUM region is thus far the only region in the ACP Group to implement a full EPA, and this is currently being reviewed. At its 102nd meeting in Brussels, the ACP Council of Ministers reiterated this, expressing real concerns at the fact that the EU has sealed, or is engaged in, FTA negotiations with third countries which are in competition with ACP providers. The result of this is the erosion of preferences that the ACP countries enjoy under the EPAs or other trade regimes with the EU.
The resolution on trade issues, adopted by the Council of Ministers, asks the EU to respect the arrangements of the Cotonou Agreement immediately, while preserving the preferences the ACP states enjoy under the EPAs and GSP schemes. It also calls on the EU to accelerate negotiations with other ACP regions while duly taking account of the interests and concerns of the relevant countries - several of which are among the least developed countries (LDCs) and small vulnerable economies.
Stating that the EPAs are supposed to be development instruments, the ACP Council says that “the conclusion and implementation of the EPAs must be balanced so as to accelerate the sustainable and inclusive development of the ACP states, especially through strengthening competitiveness and the regional integration process of these states”. The ACP ministers again underline the need for the EU to provide additional resources, especially through the special EPA funds, and to increase the financing of aid to trade “so that the ACP states might have specific and planned resources to lift the constraints linked to the offer, to strengthen their production capacities and increase their competitiveness, as well as to finance the costs linked to implementation of the EPAs”.
Four countries from eastern and southern African (Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe), plus Cameroon, the Côte d'Ivoire, Papua New Guinea and Fiji are implementing a temporary agreement. The regional entity that negotiates an EPA within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC) and West Africa have completed their full EPA negotiations and plan to sign and ratify these agreements by October 2016 at the latest.
A fortnight away from the tenth World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Nairobi on 15-18 December, the ACP ministers have confirmed their commitment to the Doha Round and have called on the WTO members to do the same, in the interest of developing countries (see EUROPE 11417). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)