Geneva, 06/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Union has formally requested permission from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to grant preferential treatment to 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries under the new Partnership Agreement, and also to grant preferential treatment to Eastern Balkans countries which are applicants for joining the European Union. The two derogation requests were presented on Wednesday to the WTO's Trade Committee, along with a series of explanations and pleas from the countries concerned, representatives of which came en bloc to Geneva to lend weight to the requests. Informal consultations will be held until July, when the Trade Committee meets again, in order to reduce the fears and doubts already expressed by some of the countries concerned, particularly in terms of preferential access for ACP bananas to the Single European Market.
The derogations requested should enable the different partners to implement the measures in their agreements covering the non-application of customs duties along with other preferential measures to facilitate the export of their products to the EU and the economic development of the beneficiary countries. Such measures are usually considered to be discriminatory regimes banned by the WTO. The derogation for the Balkans covers virtually all products (apart from some textiles and agricultural products) from South-East Europe, namely Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRM), as stipulated in their bilateral agreements on trade and cooperation with the EU. The preferential regime for ACP countries aims "to encourage the incorporation of these countries into the world trade system" explains the accompanying documentation. ACP countries argued that extending the treatment they were awarded under the Lomé IV Convention beyond its 29 February 2000 expiry date to 2007 was "essential" for the 71 countries, 39 of which figure in the United Nations list of the poorest countries on the planet. The Head of the European Delegation in Geneva indicated that the new agreement was quite different from the previous one in that the eight year transitory period would help prepare the way for "trading relations fully complying with WTO regulations".
At this early stage of the proceedings, nobody has yet said "No", but many reservations have been expressed. The United States support the broad objectives of the EU's agreement with ACP countries, but have expressed their concern at the lack of documentation accompanying the derogation requests. Joined by a few Latin American countries, they called on the EU to supply guarantees that it would respect its international commitments. Washington's representative, along with his counterparts from Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia and Brazil warned that the EU banana import scheme should not be used to get round the WTO's verdict that it must adhere by WTO regulations and announced they would be going over the new agreement with a fine toothcomb. No precise measures have been included in the new agreement for ACP bananas, since this highly sensitive issue is still being discussed both within the EU itself and with the countries concerned.