Brussels, 01/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Union is offering better access to the European sugar market for a larger number of developing countries, especially the least developed countries (LDC), a European Commission press release published on Thursday 1 October states. The sugar protocol, which, since 1975, has allowed 20 ACP countries (African, Caribbean, Pacific) to export sugar to the European Union wiithout customs duties and at a guaranteed price, ended on 30 September 2009.
As of 1 October 2009, a preferential regime for sugar from ACP countries and developing countries takes effect and will facilitate the trade in sugar as follows: 1) LDC countries, whether ACP or not, will benefit from unlimited access to the European market either under the “Everything But Arms” initiative or under the economic partnership agreements (EPA); 2) non-LDC ACP countries that are party to an EPA will benefit from access to the European market subject to a transitional safeguard mechanism aimed at maintaining market balance (free access is suspended when total imports to the EU of ACP sugar reach 3.5 million tonnes and when imports from non-LDC ACP countries reach 1.38 million tonnes in 2008/2009, 1.45 million in 2009/2010 and 1.6 million per marketing year from 2010/2011 to 2014/2015). Maintaining minimum access per EPA region is guaranteed; and 3) the ACP countries that are not LDC and that are not part of an EPA will have access to the European market under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). EPAs are a new generation of trade and development agreements between the European Union and its ACP partners which confer on ACP partners access to the EU market customs-free and without quotas. The countries signing the sugar protocol have, since 2006/2007, received financial allocations to cofund their restructuring and adjustment strategies for the sugar sector, the so-called accompanying measures (2007-2013), for a total of €1.25 billion.
As of 1 October 2015, the market will be freely accessible to all ACP countries that have signed EPAs, subject to the general EPA safeguard clause. (L.C./transl.jl)