| EU sets deadline for conclusion of trade agreements |
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The EU increased the pressure on African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states over the on-going deadlock regarding the conclusion of so called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with ACP regional groups last week. The EU has called upon those countries to sign the EPAs by 2014, if they want to benefit from continued preferential trade access into the EU. Development experts have however warned against the limited time span to implement those agreements and pointed to the danger of disrupting regional integration efforts. The negotiations on the EPAs that were started in 2002 and intended to be concluded by 2007, continue to be stalled, with developing countries worried about an increased inflow of cheap products from the EU to the detriment of their domestic economies. So far, the CARIFORUM remains the only regional group to have signed an EPA with the EU. Its implementation has proven to be slow and tedious, experts have stressed. In an attempt to give a final push to the conclusion of the agreements, the EU now limited the remaining negotiation period to 1 January, 2014. Experts have however warned against the limited time span for the 18 out of 36 countries that have not yet concluded or implemented an EPA. "The EPAs are too substantial to implement entirely before 2014”, believes Paul Kruger from the Trade Law Centre of Southern Africa. According to Kruger, the limited time spam may lead to serious disruptions in regional integration efforts of the different groups, as not all countries may pursue the conclusion of the EPA. “What if the South Africans say: ‘We don’t want to negotiate an EPA in 18 months’? This would mean a split in the configuration. Countries like Namibia would have to decide to continue siding with South Africa and lose market access or to join Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, which have signed on to the agreement," Kruger said. While South Africa would continue trading with the EU under the Trade Cooperation and Development Agreement (TDCA), the failure of ratifying and starting to implement the EPA would put Botswana and Namibia at risk of losing their quota free access to the EU market. Those countries could thus face tariffs on their exports to the EU under the new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to come into force on 1 January 2014, experts have warned. “While one might understand the European logic to put an end to an instrument that has remained “temporary” for too long and is not compatible with rules of the WTO, there are still some “contentious issues” that remain unresolved”, conclude San Bilal and Isabelle Ramdoo from the Pacific Islands News Association. Sources:  |
