• Putting Substance into PACER Plus
    In August 2009, the Pacific Island countries will begin negotiations toward a new free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand. Coming on the heels of the troubled Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) talks with the European Commission, the deal heralds new opportunities and hazards for the islands. The existing Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER)…
  • Editorial
    Whilst the Pacific Islands await a response from the EC on their request to resume EPA negotiations, they prepare to begin negotiations toward a new free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand in August 2009. In this month’s lead article, the Pacific Institute of Public Policy outlines the issues dominating the discussions and discusses…
  • News and Publications
    African Economic Outlook 2009 The 2009 edition of the African Economic Outlook (AEO), jointly published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, says the region has been gravely affected by the global economic downturn. Following half a decade of economic growth above…
  • The ECOWAS EPA: A ‘Funeral Oration’ to Regional Integration?
    Côte d’Ivoire’s recent signing of a bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU poses a lethal challenge to the successful conclusion of a regional EPA between the EU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). When considered alongside the possibility that Ghana will soon follow suit with its own EPA,…
  • Africa and the Economic Crisis: the case for greater flexibility in EPAs
    Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit hard by the economic crisis. After a few years of sustained strong growth and high levels of optimism, growth rates are expected to fall to 1.5 percent in 2009.[1] Exports, which have driven much of Africa’s recent expansion, are expected to fall by 40 percent.[2] As it sweeps…
  • Private Sector Participation in Aid for Trade: Breaking Barriers to Private Sector Growth
    It is well recognised that developing countries need to unleash the potential of the private sector by promoting entrepreneurship, creating a sound enabling environment for doing business and helping entrepreneurs connect to new global markets. However a number of shortcomings in the Aid for Trade agenda inhibit the role of the private sector. These include: A…
  • The Union for the Mediterranean: Progress, Difficulties and Way Forward
    The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) - a new framework established last year to revive relations between the EU and Mediterranean countries - has faced significant obstacles. These difficulties have raised significant questions. Namely, is the new scheme translating into projects with the potential to enhance the visibility of UfM activities and bring these closer…
  • WTO Roundup
    Lamy Tapped to Lead the WTO for another 4 Years Pascal Lamy, who has served as director-general of the WTO since September 2005, will continue to lead the organisation for another four years, WTO Members unanimously confirmed last week. The announcement came as no surprise, as Lamy was running for the position unopposed. The former French bureaucrat…
  • EPA Update
    EPAs progressing, but signing depends on development certainty: ACP, EU Substantial progress has been made in the EPA negotiations in recent weeks according to African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group President, Joseph Maáhanua and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton. But both also stressed to those attending the ACP-EU Joint Ministerial Trade Committee (JMTC), which took place…
  • Calendar and Resources
    June Central Africa-EC EPA negotiations at ministerial level (tbc) Signature of Pacific-EU interim EPA with Fiji and Papua New Guinea (tbc) Pacific-EC EPA negotiations at technical and senior officials level (tbc) 1st Joint CARIFORUM-EC Council (tbc) 1-3          UN high-level conference on the world financial and economic crisis and its         impact on development, New York…