Trade Negotiations Insights

Volume 8 • Number 6 August 2009

  • The EC-SADC EPA: The Moment of Truth for Regional Integration
    Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland have broken with other Southern African Customs Union (SACU) members South Africa and Namibia by signing an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. The signing, which took place amidst great controversy on 4 June in Brussels, ensures provisional application of the agreement by all parties. In signing, Botswana,…
  • Editorial
    The consequences of the 4 June signing of the EC-SADC EPA by some members of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) - and refusal to sign by others - has been the subject of intense debate in the international press. Some now say the controversy threatens the existence of SACU and the aftershocks are being…
  • News and Publications
    Scenarios for West African Region EPA Negotiations This publication presents four possible outcomes of current trade negotiations to establish an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the West African Region and the EU. The variety of economic interests and capacities that comprise the complex position of the West African Region, which includes 16 countries, has made efforts…
  • The Future of the Southern African Customs Union
    Tensions over the future of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and trade relations with the EU are rising, as reflected in the plethora of recent media reports. Unfortunately they are so complex that they defy simple categorisation. The most difficult problem concerns the future of revenue distribution within SACU. South Africa substantially subsidises the smaller…
  • TNI Talks to Daniel Moroka, Botswana’s Minister of Trade and Industry
    TNI: How can an EPA help address the challenges of the global financial crisis? Moroka: The EPA could contribute to that firstly because developing countries have got duty-free, quota-free access to the European market. Secondly, the development dimensions of the EPA would apply to the interim EPA so that we could improve production. TNI: Why sign an…
  • Tracing the Special and Differential Treatment principle through the CARIFORUM EPA
    The EU’s decision to replace unilateral Lomé preferences with Article XXIV-compliant reciprocal agreements remains a subject of ongoing debate in trade circles. The major issue stems from the inequality of bilateral negotiations between the world’s largest bloc of industrial countries and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) group of states, which includes LDCs and other…
  • Protected Geographical Indications for ACP Countries: A Solution or a Mirage?
    The position of African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries in the EU marketplace is inherently weak. Of late, this unequal trade relationship has been characterised by a marked reduction in commercial preferences awarded to ACP countries, increased competition among emerging economies, continued price instability of raw materials, and an increased demand for high quality foodstuffs…
  • Stimulating an Island Nation: The Logic behind Mauritius’ Additional Stimulus Package
    At the end of October 2008, there was a consensus in Mauritius between policy makers and economic operators, that although the country was not facing any systemic financial risk, the global economic downturn would hit, in a significant manner, our main exports, namely, textile and tourism. In Mauritius the banking sector is properly regulated, well capitalised…
  • The Efficacy of the Stimulus Package
    The first initiative of Mauritius’ Additional Stimulus Package (ASP) was launched as a response to a request from the private sector through the Joint Economic Council (JEC) and the Mauritius Exporters Association (MEXA). The reason for this initial approach by the private sector was the urgent need of some major textile firms who were having difficulties…
  • WTO Roundup
    Pork Exporters Condemn ‘Swine Flu’ Import Bans Several exporting countries chastised fellow WTO Members in June for imposing ‘unjustified’ import bans on live pigs and pork products in response to the recent outbreak of the H1N1 ‘swine flu’ virus. The complaints were one of several grievances aired at a June meeting of the WTO’s Committee on…
  • EPA Update
    ACP, EU set early 2010 deadline for concluding EPA talks William Haomae, co-president of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers and foreign affairs and external trade minister of Solomon Islands, reiterated ACP EPA demands at a meeting of the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers meeting held on 29 May 2009 in Brussels. The two key demands…
  • Events
  • Calendar and Resources
    ACP-EU Events July EU- West Africa Senior Official Meeting, Brussels EU- EAC Ministerial Meeting, Brussels EU- Pacific Technical Meeting, Brussels 29-30     African Union Workshop for Parliamentarians and Civil Society on Economic  Partnership Agreements, Addis Ababa 29-31     2nd East African Community Investment Conference, Nairobi, Kenya 30-31     Seminar on Professional services…
  • Resources
  • Resources
    Addressing the fiscal effects of an EPA, San Bilal and Vincent Roza, ECDPM study, May 2007 (released 29 June 2009), www.ecdpm.org Connecting Africa and Europe: working towards strengthening transport cooperation-Partnership between the European Union and Africa, European Commission Communication to the European Parliament and to the Council, Commission of the European Communities, 24 June…