So, what are EPAs?
Why should I care about EPAs?
How will EPAs hurt poor countries?
What is trade liberalisation?
How does the WTO fit in?
Why is the EU doing this?
Can't poor countries walk away from the negotiations?
Can the UK make any difference if it's the EU that leads on EPAs?
What are you calling for?
Is Traidcraft campaigning on this alone?
So, what are EPAs?
Often pronounced 'Eepers', they are trade deals being negotiated now between the European Union (including the UK) and 77 poor countries - mostly former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. Negotiations were launched in 2002 and are due to complete at the end of 2007. They will be 'ratified' (different countries will have different ratification processes) in 2007/8 and are due to come in to force in 2008.
Why should I care about EPAs?
These trade deals are supposed to be good for poor countries and help them develop. But the proposals on the table look set to have the opposite effect.
In 2005, in response to your campaigning and calls to Make Poverty History, the UK government shifted its position on trade. Tony Blair said he would not force poor countries to 'liberalise'. This was a fantastic achievement.
But now the UK government is allowing negotiations on EPAs to continue in their name, even though they go against everything Tony Blair promised in 2005.
How will EPAs hurt poor countries?
By forcing them to 'liberalise' their economies too fast and too quickly. Poor countries' farmers and industries will be thrown in to open competition with mighty EU industries before they're ready to compete. The result? Poor countries will see their industries and farmers destroyed, they'll have less money from taxes to invest in health and education, their economies will go in to decline, children will suffer and adults will lose their jobs. And it's not just Traidcraft saying this. Even the EU's own independent study by Price Waterhouse Coopers says EPAs could cost Kenya dearly.
What is trade liberalisation?
'Trade liberalisation' is the term for the process whereby a country opens up its markets to international trade ie reduces the taxes (known as tariffs) and limits (known as quotas) on goods coming in and privatises its economy. It's part of 'free trade'. The trouble is free trade is only fair when all sides are equal - and our world isn't like that.
Poor countries have been forced to 'liberalise' over the last 20 years through institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, through conditions attached to aid and through trade deals like those negotiated at the WTO. Added to the table now are Economic Partnership Agreements.
Traidcraft and other members of the Trade Justice Movement believe 'forced liberalisation' has contributed to an increase in poverty over the last twenty years. Christian Aid estimate free trade has cost Africa £272 billion dollars.
But despite the evidence from poor countries that unfettered trade liberalisation does not reduce poverty, rich nations continue to prescribe the same medicine. Poor countries are being forced in to an economic straight-jacket.
Instead, poor countries need the freedom and right to protect and support their industries and farmers until they are strong enough to compete internationally.
How does the WTO fit in?
The World Trade Organisation is the body through which members try and negotiate global trade deals. EPAs are what's known as bi-lateral trade deals - between particular regions and groups of countries. Another example is the Free Trade Area of the Americas which is being negotiated between the USA and Latin America.
There are many problems with the WTO process but it is subject to a great deal of media interest and scrutiny. One of the biggest problems with EPAs is that there is very little publicity around them and the negotiations can be extremely secretive, with the EU using bullying and underhand tactics to push through their agenda.
Why is the EU doing this?
On the one hand there are members of the EU who believe that further liberalisation by poor countries will lead to poverty reduction. We still need to work harder to show that this is simply not the case. However EU members also have their own agenda - they would like access to more markets for their goods. They are also using EPAs to push through negotiations on areas which poor countries have already rejected at the WTO.
Can't poor countries walk away from the negotiations?
The ACP have voiced their objections to the negotiations from the start. They say they are not strong enough to be thrown in to open competition with mighty EU industries. They've seen what liberalisation has done in the past. And they're not ready for more. But the EU isn't listening.
Many ACP countries rely on aid from the EU which makes it difficult for them to play hard ball! And with no alternatives on offer they have little choice. The ACP are being given an ultimatum: if they want to continue getting access to EU markets they must open up to the EU in return.
Traidcraft is working with partner organisations in the South to help raise awareness of the agreements and enable affected communities to speak out.
Can the UK make any difference if it's the EU that leads on EPAs?
The European Commission negotiates these deals on behalf of the members of the EU. But the Commission takes its mandate from the members - the members can choose to change that mandate.
We do need more than one member of the EU to speak out about EPAs and we're working with partner organisations in Europe to make this happen. But we also have a duty to target our own government.
The UK is a very influential player within the EU. If they chose to speak out strongly against EPAs it would have an enormous impact - it would create the environment in which other member states could speak out and the mandate of the EU could be changed. We also need to hold the UK government to account for their promises on trade in 2005.
After receiving thousands of postcards from Traidcraft supporters the UK government amended its position on EPAs in March 2005. It called for the issues which the ACP had already rejected at the WTO to be excluded from the negotiations and said EPAs must be reformed. This was excellent news.
But the government is failing to take a lead within the EU and move from words to action. It's time for them to step up a gear.
What are you calling for?
We want to Stop EPAs in their current form and develop alternative trade deals which will enable poor countries and poor people to develop and benefit from trade.
Is Traidcraft campaigning on this alone?
No. Traidcraft is a lead player in the Stop EPA campaign but many other charities in the UK, Europe and world-wide are joining together on this campaign. The UK Trade Justice Movement will also be campaigning together to Stop EPAs in the second half of 2006 - so watch this space!