Title: Economic Partnership Agreements:
1 Economic Partnership Agreements A new
approach to ACP-EU economic and trade
cooperation Commission Européenne Accra, FAO
Regional Clarification seminar, 17 february 2005
2- EPAs a new approach to EU-ACP trade cooperation
- State of negotiations in West and Central Africa
Region - Conclusions
31. EPAs a new approach to EU-ACP trade
cooperation
4LACK OF ACP EXPORT DIVERSIFICATION (2003)
- 5 PRODUCTS 60 of total Exports
- (petroleum, diamonds, cocoa, fish, and wood
products) -
9 AFRICAN COUNTRIES REPRESENT 60
OF TOTAL ACP EXPORT
5(No Transcript)
6- LESSONS LEARNT
- Unilateral Preferences
- Are Not Enough
- Preferences do not encourage diversification
- Perverse incentive against trade liberalisation
- Preference erosion increases as multilateral
liberalisation progresses
7- TOWARDS A NEW APPROACH
- The Cotonou Agreement
- Three pillars
- Political dialogue
- Development co-operation
- Economic and trade co-operation
8- TOWARDS A NEW APPROACH
- The Cornerstones of EPAs
- Partnership
- Development dimension
- Regional integration
- WTO compatibility
9- Development dimension
- EPAs as process and instruments for development
- Integrated approach (Cotonou pillars)
- Trade policy as instrument for development
- Mainstream trade into development strategy (RPTF)
10- Regional integration
- First step towards gradual integration into world
economy - Enlarging markets for attracting investment
- Support ACP political choices
- Combined South-South-North cooperation (lock-in
effects)
11- WTO compatibility
- EPAs will be fully compatible with WTO rules
- Gradual introduction of reciprocity
- Asymmetry, flexibility, differentiation, variable
speed and geometry - Complementarity DDA/WTO and EPAs
12- 2. State of negotiations in West and Central
Africa Region - September 2002 October 2003
- First phase at all-ACP level
- Clarification phase
- Development dimension, Legal issues, Market
access, Trade-related areas, Agriculture,
Services - Joint Report and Declaration
- October 2003 end 2007
- Regional negotiations and Coordination at all
ACP level - 2008 Entry into force
13State of negotiations in West and Central Africa
Region
- Road map
- Deepening Regional Integration
- Competitiviness
- Preparation and follow up of negotiations
- Calendar for negotiations
- The RPTF
14State of negotiations in West and Central Africa
Region
- Road map The calendar
- Introductory priority setting phase (3 months)
- Convergence on strategic approach (until mid
2005) - Understanding on regional integration policies
and priorities and on level of integration to be
achieved when EPA implementation starts - Structuring and consolidation (until mid 2006)
- Remaining trade related issues to be included in
EPA - Prepare liberalisation scenarios
- draft outline of EPA
- Finalisation of negotiations (until end of 2007)
- Negotiation of market access
- Finalisation of EPA
15Regional Preparatory Task Force
- Objectifs
- Mainstream trade in development policies
- Bridge between pilars of the Cotonou Agreement
Trade pilar and financing cooperation pilar - Complementarity with development partners
16EC Trade Support Initiatives
- Intra-ACP horizontal All ACP instruments
- WTO negotiation capacity building facility 10
M - EPA negotiation capacity building facility 20
M - Trade.Com 50 M
- ProInvest 110 M (TRINNEX)
- Centre for the Development of Enterprise - 90 M
- Pesticides programme 29 M
- Fisheries programme 43 M
- Programmed Aid 9th EDF
- West Africa Regional Indicative Programme - 235
M - National Indicative Programmes
- Investment Facility
173. Conclusions
- EPAs are an opportunity
- ACP development is the objective
- Make the RPTF work
- Very little time left