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The acp-eu-trade.org newsletter -- No. 9/April 2007 
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In this issue:
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Focus on…:
United Nations University – Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)
by Philippe de Lombaerde
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Keeping Track...:
Investment in the EPA negotiations
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News: Highlights of the Month
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Selection from www.acp-eu-trade.org Library
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Resources from Recent Events

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Dear readers,

Welcome to this new issue of the acp-eu-trade.org Newsletter!

ACP-EU stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the various services provided via this website with the aim to exchange relevant information, build up trade negotiating capacity and facilitate networking activities. We therefore invite our readers to take an active role in www.acp-eu-trade.org by:

- Registering on-line as a trade and development expert to help mobilise the best expertise in ACP-EU trade and development matters and give interested parties easier access to information on relevant internationally recognized experts or consultants;
- Submitting relevant background and policy documents, news and links that will enrich the ACP-EU trade debate;
- Subscribing to our monthly newsletter as well as other partners' to be kept informed of latest developments in the ACP-EU trade realm;
- Sharing your views on the current ACP-EU Trade debate and providing feedback on the relevance and future focus areas of www.acp-eu-trade.org
We appreciate any feedback on this newsletter and look forward to your reactions. You may send your comments to acpeutrade@ecdpm.org .

Enjoy your reading!

Editors: Davina Makhan ( dm@ecdpm.org ) and Eoghan Duffy ( ed@ecdpm.org )

 

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Focus On...
United Nations University – Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)
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By Philippe De Lombaerde
Research Fellow
UNU-CRIS
Potterierei, 72
B-8000 Brugge
BELGIUM
Tel. +32 50 471100
Fax +32 50 471309
E-mail: pdelombaerde@cris.unu.edu or: director@cris.unu.edu
Website UNU-CRIS: www.cris.unu.edu
Website UNU : www.unu.edu

The United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) is a research and training centre of the United Nations University (UNU) with headquarters in Tokyo (Japan). UNU is a global network of centres and programmes engaged in research and capacity development to support the universal goals of the UN, generate new knowledge and ideas, and act as a bridge between the academic world and the UN system. Based in Bruges (Belgium), UNU-CRIS conducts comparative and inter-disciplinary research and training for better understanding the processes and impacts of intra- and inter-regional integration and cooperation. The aim is to build policy-relevant knowledge about new forms of regional governance and co-operation, and to contribute to capacity building on issues of integration and co-operation particularly in developing countries.
UNU-CRIS acts also as a resource for the UN systemwith particular links to the UN bodies dealing with regional integration and works in partnership with initiatives and centres throughout the world that are concerned with issues of integration and cooperation.

Currently, research at UNU-CRIS is organised under five research themes:

Recent books published:

On-line publications – A selection of Occasional papers from UNU-CRIS:

Find more publications and analysis on regional integration from various perspectives on http://www.cris.unu.edu



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Keeping track on…
Investment in the EPA Negotiations
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With the EPA negotiations now moving to discussion on substantive issues, the precise terms on which the contentious so-called “Singapore Issues” - Investment, Competition, Public Procurement, and Trade Facilitation – are to be incorporated in the EPAs will be elaborated. Discussions on investment are likely to prove among the most prominent in this aspect of the EPA negotiations.

Given the many links between trade and investment, investment policy is an increasingly prominent aspect of trade negotiations parlance, with a broad range of measures on investment – promotion, protection, market access, and non-discrimination – now potentially included in trade agreements.However, the debate on whether and how provisions on investment should be included in EPAs, which are first and foremost supposed to promote development, is a complex one.

The European Commission (EC) argues that establishing regional rules and opening up ACP markets to investment, is a crucial aspect to successfully integrating ACP states into the world economy through EPAs. The ACP side, however, has reservations about agreeing to binding rules and/or market-opening on investment. In certain cases there is little regional or national capacity to either negotiate on, or implement, investment measures. There are also concerns that binding provisions on investment could constrain ACP countries’ policy space to pursue their particular development objectives and to manage the kind of foreign investments made in their territories.

Such concerns lead the G90 group in the WTO, which includes the ACP group, to reject the inclusion of negotiations on investment – and on competition and public procurement - in the current Doha Round. However, different approaches pertain within the ACP group concerning EPAs and investment. The Caribbean region aims to conclude broad-ranging provisions, the Pacific region has developed a draft EPA chapter on investment protection and promotion, while the African regions have so far been unprepared to discuss certain or all aspects of the EC’s agenda for investment provisions in EPAs. In this context, the willingness of the EC to take on board the different concerns of each ACP region will prove important for the progress of the EPA negotiations on investment.

Below, you will find a selection of latest developments and sources of information to keep track on the issue of Investment in the EPA negotiations.

 

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Latest Developments:
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* 19-03-07: ECOWAS to develop document on Investment and Competition for EPA negotiations with EU
A regional workshop to develop an ECOWAS document on investment and competition for the negotiation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union opened in Lome, Togo Monday, an ECOWAS statement said. Some 95 participants from the ECOWAS and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Commissions as well as experts from Member States and Consultants are attending the four-day workshop, which will examine various proposals from Member States on a draft policy.
[click here to read more]

We will post any available documents from this workshop in next month’s acp-eu-trade.org Newsletter

* 14-03-07: Christian Aid backs International Development Committee over EU ‘trade abuse’ accusation
‘The committee said it was ‘concerned’ that the EU was abusing its position to force African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to accept the so-called Singapore Issues. ‘It is a conclusion with which we wholeheartedly agree,’ said Martin Gordon of Christian Aid.’
[click here to read more]

* 14-03-07: UK House of Common’s Select International Development Committee publishes its 5th report on EU Trade and Development Policies
(Chapter on EPAs)
‘We remain concerned that the EU is abusing its position in the partnership to persuade the ACP countries that the New or Singapore Issues are essential for development and by implying that there may be penalties if they reject them. We believe both elements of the Commissioner's assurance to us—voluntary inclusion of the issues and a long implementation period—are necessary in order to prioritise development outcomes for the EPAs. We would encourage him urgently to ensure that the Commission as a whole is taking this approach across the board.’
[click here to read more]
(Chapter on EPAs)

* 13-03-07: EPAs Will Protect Ghanaian And ACP Producers - EU Trade Commissioner
On the Singapore Issues of Investment, Competition Policy and Government Procurement, and the question of whether they should be unconditionally excluded from trade agreements with the European Union, Mr. Peter Mandelson said he did not believe they should be excluded because they are necessary for Ghana's growth and that of ACP countries as well. He reiterated that he has no intention of imposing them.
[click here to read more]

* 29-06-06: No EPA Without Investment Rules and Full Reciprocity, Falkenberg Insists
Karl Falkenberg, Deputy Director-General of Trade at the European Commission, says its is not worth having an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and ECOWAS if the Agreement did not enshrine Free Trade Agreement-style full reciprocity between the parties and liberalised rules for Investment.
[click here to read more]

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Official Sources:
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* European Commission webpage on Trade and Investment:
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/sectoral/investment/index_en.htm

* WTO webpage on Investment:
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/invest_e/invest_e.htm

* See also: WTO Uruguay Round agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)
The agreement recognizes that certain investment measures restrict and distort trade. It provides that no contracting party shall apply any TRIM inconsistent with Articles III (national treatment) and XI (prohibition of quantitative restrictions) of the GATT. To this end, an illustrative list of TRIMs agreed to be inconsistent with these articles is appended to the agreement. The list includes measures which require particular levels of local procurement by an enterprise (“local content requirements”) or which restrict the volume or value of imports such an enterprise can purchase or use to an amount related to the level of products it exports (“trade balancing requirements”).
http://www.wto.int/english/docs_e/legal_e/18-trims.pdf

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Internet resources:
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* Bilaterals.org:
Bilaterals.org is a collective effort to share information and stimulate cooperation against bilateral trade and investment agreements that are opening countries to the deepest forms of penetration by transnational corporations.
Dedicated page on EPAs
Dedicated page on Investment

* Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO):
SOMO investigates the consequences of Multinational Enterprises' (MNE's) policies and the consequences of the internationalisation of business particularly for developing countries. It has a dedicated research theme on International Trade and Investment.
http://www.somo.nl/index_eng.php

* International Economic Development Group, Overseas Development Institute (ODI):
Research Area: Investment and Growth
ODI’s research on Investment and Growth focuses on: What drives growth; The role of investment, local and foreign, in getting growth going, and how different types of investment relate to the pattern of growth; What type of government and business policies work where and when for supporting growth and investment; How donors can assist investment and growth.
http://www.odi.org.uk/iedg/Research_areas/Investment_growth.html

* International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD):
IISD’s work on Investment focuses on the critical linkage between investment and sustainable development and provides new approaches to ensure that investment law and policy will make a positive contribution to the imperatives of sustainable development.
http://www.iisd.org/investment/

*Pacific Regional Economic Integration Programme (PACREIP):
The Pacific Regional Economic Integration Programme (PACREIP) enhances the capacity of PACPS to support regional economic integration, preparation and conduct of negotiations of an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).
Documents relating to the EPA negotiations on Investment in the Pacific region can be accessed here
See also here
http://www.pacreip.org/

* The Third World Network (TWN):
TWN - Africa Secretariat seeks to make the international trade and investment regime, including the WTO respond more sensitively to the needs of African countries; promote equity in international trade and investment; and develop a framework for Africa.
This TWN webpage compiles articles related to Trade and Investment
http://twnafrica.org/trade&investment.asp

* Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (tralac):
Tralac has a number of discussion forums, moderated by tralac researchers and experts on Investment and the other Singapore Issues in EPAs.
http://epa.tralac.org/scripts/nav.php?id=4

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Other sources:
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* Comparing EU Free Trade Agreements: Investment
Szepesi, S., ECDPM InBrief 6D, 2004
International investment flows are a vital part of the global economy. In developed and developing countries alike, foreign direct investment (FDI) can be a key element for economic growth by stimulating employment, wage levels and the transfer of knowledge. There is a growing consensus that there is a close link between international trade and FDI. Though they can be substitutes for each other, trade and FDI are often complementary means by which businesses can service foreign markets. It is therefore not surprising that investment issues are gaining in importance within international trade negotiations. More broadly, private investment decisions are affected by a broad range of institutional factors, some of which may be addressed in investment agreements.

* EPAs and investment
Christian Aid, AIPAD Trust, CPDC, ENDA, SEATINI, October 2006.
This report examines the implications of this approach for ACP countries negotiating EPAs. It finds that binding rules-based agreements on investment not only have a disappointing track record in attracting new foreign investment, they also generate risks for countries wanting to actively manage investment to achieve development goals, for example through job creation, transfer of technology and increased opportunities for local businesses. The report calls for a new framework for ACP-EC discussions on investment that allows countries to prioritise aspects of cooperation that will bring real benefits and achieve the objectives of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.

*EPA negotiations do not promote the right investment policies in Africa
SOMO Briefing Paper, September 2006
The EU strongly advocates that attracting more foreign investment is a solution to African development problems and that African countries therefore need to include strict investment liberalisation measures in EPAs. However, Africa has so far experienced too little benefits from foreign investment and investment incentives. African Ministers need to continue to resist EU pressure to include investment liberalisation in EPAs and rather focus on support and capacity building for domestic or regional investment, and making foreign investors responsible for their activities in Africa.

* Pacific ACP non-paper: Investment chapter in the context of the EPA negotiations

* SEATINI Bulletin: EPAs and Investment
October 2006.

* Trade Policy: Promoting Investment for Development
Trade Policy Working Paper No.19; Working Party of the Trade Committee; OECD; June 2005.
This report describes the complex and changing interrelationship between trade, domestic investment and foreign direct investment (FDI) and provides examples of good practices in trade policymaking that create a healthy investment climate in developing countries.

 

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News: Highlights of the Month
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* EU-Africa e-alert. No. 6 . March 2007
This e-alert aims to provide quick and regular information and analysis on the EU-African relations, especially the decisions and processes that impact on the implementation of the new EU Strategy for Africa . This newsletter has started as part of a project funded by the European Commission and implemented by ECORYS and is now funded by ECDPM.

Contents
I – Focus: Towards the Lisbon summit: the public consultation on an EU-Africa joint strategy
II - EU-AU relations
III – The African Union : Africa in a broader context and the RECs
IV – EU external aid: EDF 10, new instruments of EC external aid and EU development policy
V – Peace and Security
VI – Governance
VII – EPA negotiations
VIII – Migration and development
IX – An actor in EU-AU relations: AfriMAP

Click here to access directly the EU-Africa e-alert
English version: www.ecdpm.org/eu-africa-alert
French version: http://www.ecdpm.org/eu-africa-alertfr

Please do not hesitate to send interesting links and articles which can contribute to enriching this e-alert, in particular by African partners. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed so far.

Contact: europafrica.e-alert@ecdpm.org . Please also send an email to this address if you want to unsubscribe from this e-alert.

From our news section:

* 30-03-2007: This is a Call for Input on the Draft Final Reports on EPA SIAs
This is a Call for Input on the Draft Final Reports of the Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) of the Economic Partnership Agreements under negotiation between the European Community and ACP Countries. The draft final report entitled "Summary of Key Findings, Policy Recommendations and Lessons Learnt" was discussed at the Civil Society Dialogue meeting on 23 March. The draft final report by the consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is available for comments until 6 April 2007. Under the last phase of this Trade SIA, an additional draft report on stakeholders' engagement is expected to be available in June. Comments to be sent to: trade-civilsociety@ec.europa.eu
Access the document here

* 26-03-2007: Danish Parliament EPA resolution
On 24th January the Danish parliament had a debate on the EPAs and adopted the following resolution:
“The Danish Parliament stresses that the purpose of the Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU is to promote the development of the ACP countries and fight poverty through their integration into world trade. The Danish government is therefore encouraged to work to ensure that:
Tariff reductions on the part of the ACP countries take place at a social and state financially responsible pace.
The EU lives up to its promises to increase aid, including its promise to deliver increased trade-related aid to the ACP countries in relation to the partnership agreements.”
[click here to read more]

* 21-03-2007:  EC says it will make an ambitious Mode IV offer to the ACP in the EPA negotiations
The EC says it will make an ambitious Mode IV offer to the ACP in the EPA negotiations.  There are no details but it could be linked to the broader EC debate on migration and development. See the migration section of the 15 February EU Council conclusions where the Council had an exchange of views on the implementation of the European Council conclusions of 14 and 15 December 2006 relating to a Comprehensive European Migration Policy.
It includes promoting circular migration by allowing temporary stays for the purpose of work or further training and education.  It notes that in December 2006, the European Council invited the Commission to examine by June 2007 how possibilities for legal migration might be incorporated into the EU’s policy in the field of external relations, in order to arrive at a balanced partnership with third countries.
[click here to read more]

* 21-03-2007: The Pacific is to conduct an EPA Sustainability Impact Assessment

* 05-03-2007: Pacific Ministers are visiting EU capitols to discuss EPA issues
Pacific Ministers are visiting EU capitols to discuss Mode IV, potential fisheries investments, development and other EPA related issues

* 05-03-2007: 19 April Stop EPA campaign demonstration in EU Member States
Le 19 avril prochain sera une journée de mobilisation internationale contre les APE. Cette date se situe en plein moment « chaud » sur les négiociations APE : entre la réunion informelle des Ministres européens du Développement de mars (où participeront aussi les 30 ministres ACP du commerce) et le Conseil des Ministres européens des affaires générales et extérieures de mai. Et juste avant une grande réunion des chefs d’Etats européens et ACP. Dans ce cadre, une action mondiale sera menée le 19 avril devant les Ambassades d’Allemagne afin d’exercer une pression sur la Présidence de l’Union européenne. Cet événement sera également organisé à Bruxelles durant le temps de midi.
[click here to read more]


From ACP and EU news providers:

* SADC FTA ’A Reality Next Year’
Brigitte Weidlich, in tralac News, 27 March 2007
The European Union has made available N$1,4 billion to support regional economic integration of the sub-continent in SADC. The European Union support for infrastructure will be through national indicative programmes and infrastructure like roads and bridges to better link member states to each other.
[click here to read more]

* EP calls for less onerous conditions for ACP countries
Budapest Business Journal, bbj.hu, 23 March 2007
Given the delay in the talks and the lack of readiness on the part of the ACP countries, MEPs in the Trade Committee called in a report on Wednesday for the Commission to make the conditions for the agreements less onerous. The three objectives of these agreements - to facilitate access for ACP products to the European market via a free-trade area, to develop South-South trade and to support the process of regional integration - are causing concern in ACP countries, so the own-initiative report, drawn up by Robert Sturdy (UK) calls for the „pacing, timing and scope of liberalization to be gradual and flexible in order to improve ACP regional integration and competitiveness.” MEPs in the committee ask for „duty-free, quota-free market access for the ACP as well as simplified, liberalized and more flexible rules of origin in EPAs that is the case under EBA
[click here to read more]

* Kenya: On Tariffs, Do What the EU Did And Not What It Says
Eric Mgendi, allAfrica.com, 23 March 2007
It has been argued that Kenya and other African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries should sign Economic Partnership Agreements to safeguard revenue and jobs and promote growth and development. But the implications are shallowly discussed without sufficient engagement with citizens. Trade regimes must benefit maize, tea, coffee, horticulture, dairy and sugar cane farmers and pastoralists. For example, the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) applied by European Union member states has protected farmers through tight regulation of agriculture trade regimes and direct support. Similarly, the United States supports farmers through subsidies even when they threaten discussions and the existence of the World Trade Organisation. Mr Joseph Stiglitz, a former World Bank economist and Nobel Economics laureate, has said: "Developing countries should do as the developed nations did and not as they say."
[click here to read more]

* Hylton warns Latin America against destabilising ACP
Dionne Rose, jamaica-gleaner.com, 23 March 2007
[Jamaica’s] Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Anthony Hylton, has warned Latin American countries not to pursue actions that might destabilise African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP). Mr. Hylton, who is also responsible for foreign trade, issued the warning against the probe being conducted by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) into the European Union (EU) banana tariff. On Tuesday, the WTO reopened the decade-old dispute pitting Latin American countries and the United States against the EU, according to a report from the Associated Press. Ecuador, a Latin American country, which is also the world's largest banana producer, asked the global trade body to establish a compliance panel, claiming Brussels had failed to comply with WTO rulings. The EU had blocked Ecuador’s initial request two weeks ago and accused the country of seeking preferential treatment at the expense of some of the most vulnerable countries in the global trading system, said the AP report. But the EU could not delay the investigation a second time under WTO rules.
[click here to read more]

* Private sector body formed on EU-SADC negotiations
Namibia Economist, 23 March 2007
An independent private sector body calling itself the Business Trade Forum EU Southern Africa (BTFES) has been inaugurated with the aim of establishing dialogue between business communities and the political leaders in the EU and SADC. The BTFES met in Gaborone, Botswana, parallel to the EU-SADC Senior Officials Meeting on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. It said in a statement that it considers the establishment of the EPA between EU and SADC a key priority and would like to bring the input and expertise of the private sector to help address the challenges confronting these negotiations, future trade relations and the development of business between the two regions.
[click here to read more]

* EU luck to make it to 50, many don’t
Simon Stocker, EUobserver.com, 22 March 2007
Fiftieth birthday parties tend to be joyous occasions, tempered by a modicum of fear.
At this weekend's ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1957 Treaty of Rome, the EU's leaders will doubtlessly proclaim how countries that were bitter foes in the previous decade laid the foundations to a remarkable project of integration. But rather than dwelling on this undeniable achievement, the Union's leaders should think about how 50 is an unattainable age for a significant proportion of the world's population. Some 10 million children die each year before their fifth birthday, while for much of sub-Saharan Africa the average life expectancy does not exceed 45. Contrary to what you may think, these issues are of fundamental importance to the EU and its history.
[click here to read more]

* Time running out for Europe-ACP partnership negotiations
Julian Richardson, jamaicaobserver.com, 21 March, 2007
The European Union (EU) this week cautioned that time was running out for negotiations of the new European Partnership Agreements (EPAs) which will henceforth govern trade and aid between Europe and its present and former colonies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson also warned about the consequences if the negotiations were not concluded by year-end, suggesting that that could include "legal challenges". But Mandelson did not elaborate on the legal challenges when he spoke late Monday to journalists attending an external trade seminar in this European city. "We have a lot of work to do this year to steer these agreements to a conclusion at the end of this year, and the fact is that we do not have as much time now as we should have," said the EU Commissioner.
[click here to read more]

* Oxfam slams bilateral trade deals
bbc.com, 20 March 2007
Global charity Oxfam has launched a wide-ranging attack on the rise of bilateral and regional trade deals. In its ‘Signing Away The Future’ report, Oxfam claims that developed nations are using low-profile talks to sidestep their international trade obligations. The comments come as the latest round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks have stalled and seem to be foundering. Oxfam says more than 250 regional and bilateral deals now control more than 30% of total world trade.
[click here to read more]

* See also: Signing Away The Future: How trade and investment agreements between rich and poor countries undermine development
Oxfam.org.uk, 20 March 2007

* Farmers’  activists now demanding extension for new EU trade talks 
Pastory Nguvu, IPPmedia.com, 20 March 2007
Negotiations pertaining to joining new European Union sponsored Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) have to be extended in order to provide opportunity for farmers and other stakeholders to digest its implications on the domestic economic scene. The National Chairperson for the [Tanzanian] Network of Farmers` Group (MVIWATA) Daima Mhina declared this position while addressing participants at the East and Southern Africa Farmers Forum (ESAFF) Training Session held in Morogoro. The objective of the training was to sensitize farmers on EPAs implications on small scale farmers. The workshop was organised by GRET and Oxfam and sponsored by ESAFF and MVIWATA.
[click here to read more]

* Bonn meeting fails to close gap on regional deals
Hendrik Schott, ipsnews.net, 14 March 2007
As president of the European Union Council for the first half of this year, Germany sought to play a prominent role at a meeting of EU development ministers in Bonn Mar. 13. An informal dialogue between the EU and representatives of 75 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), development and energy, and policy coherence for development covered much ground, but produced no agreement on trade issues. At the final press conference German development minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul announced a partnership between the EU and Africa in the field of energy. However, the political row about EPAs will continue. Some ACP countries remained sceptical over negotiations on EPAs, whereas the EU ministers seemed unanimously in favour of EPAs as a tool for development.
[click here to read more]

A number of articles related to the BonnInformal ACP-EU Dialogue on EPAs can be found in our Resources from recent events section below.

* ESA rejects European bid to bring COMESA into trade talks
Julius Barigaba, The East African, 13 March 2007
The future of talks between 16 Eastern and Southern African (ESA) countries and the European Union hangs in the balance after the ESA countries accused the EU of smuggling a document into the agenda at their recent meeting in the Burundi capital, Bujumbura. The controversial document is an Economic Partnership Agreement EPA review, which the EU presented to the negotiators to determine the region’s preparedness for an EPA three weeks ago. Sources at the meeting, said the document, based on a Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) document was rejected. It sought to use results of the COMESA review to represent ESA’s preparedness. “They [EU] were trying to use the COMESA secretariat to act behind ESA’s back,” a source said. “But the negotiators represent ESA, not COMESA.” At the heart of the matter is the EU’s growing impatience over ESA’s dilly-dallying on the negotiations. At the Bujumbura meeting, the EU wanted ESA countries to be bundled under COMESA, a development that would remove a the impediment of multiple blocs in the region.
[click here to read more]

* EPA Rules of Origin and Value Added Methodology
Lynette Gitonga, Tralac Discussion Forum, 13 March 2007
Given that the future ACP-EU rules of origin are expected to be an outcome of the EPA negotiations, a single value added approach by the EC would still need to accommodate ACP interests as part of the outcome of the negotiations. The ACP-EU negotiations would therefore need to take into account sound regional economic analysis that meets the objectives of the EPAs, which is development. Any benchmarks under consideration would need to enhance and stimulate trade for this methodology to be feasible across the sectors of interest to the ACP. In addition, the ACP countries may also consider the following in their negotiations...
[click here to read more]

* Europe Grapples With the Future of ACP Sugar Imports
Meghan Sapp, allAfrica.com, 9 March 2007
[…] The European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the EU, is looking to limit LDC sugar imports until 2015, going against a 2001 agreement -- this because of fears that local farmers might not be able to withstand competition from sugar producers abroad. Under the 2001 Everything But Arms (EBA) agreement, LDCs were allowed unlimited access to the European market for everything but arms- and sugar, bananas, and rice. More time was deemed necessary for the last three goods to be given complete access, as the EC felt local producers of these goods needed a longer period to adapt to international competition.
[click here to read more]

* Uganda: Don’t sign deal with EU, MPs tell government
John Odyek and Francis Emorut, newvision.cu.ug, 7 March 2007
MPS and international trade specialists have asked the Government, not to sign the new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), with the European Union because it would harm the economy. EPAs are new trade agreements being negotiated by the European Union to regulate its trade with the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
EPAs aim to replace the existing trade arrangements between EU and the ACP by December, 31. Elly Twineyo, the executive director of the African Centre for Trade and Development (ACTADE), argued that an extension by three years was needed to negotiate the EPAs. “We should not sign an agreement that will kill our economy. Let us not sign at all if time is extended,” he said. Twineyo was speaking during a workshop at Hotel Equatoria in Kampala last week.
[click here to read more]

* Pacific trade negotiators urged to unite in EU talks
Pacific Magazine, 2 March 2007
A group of non government representatives from across the Pacific is calling on the region's trade negotiators achieve a fair agreement that benefits all Pacific people. The call comes as the European Union continues to insist that the Pacific conclude an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by the end of 2007, but both sides are far apart.  A delegation of Pacific trade minsters led by Samoa's Trade Minister  Hans Joachim Keil, ius this week touring European capitals to lobby Europe’s political leaders for a development-friendly trade agreement. Earlier this week more than 60 Pacific representatives from parliaments, civil society, and the private sector met to discuss the issue, before releasing a joint statement that called on the EU to respond constructively to the Pacific trade negotiators’ proposals. 
[click here to read more]

* Fiji to host international sugar meeting
Pacific Magazine, 2 March 2007
Fiji will host the 10th ACP (African Caribbean Pacific) Ministerial Conference on Sugar in Nadi next month. Finance minister Mahendra Chaudhry says Fiji is hosting the meeting after the original hosts, Jamaica, pulled out in order to host the cricket world cup. The theme of the meeting will be ‘Managing the challenge of reforms in the Sugar Sector’.
[click here to read more]

* Six ACP regions will do all they can to conclude EPA negotiations by 31 December 2007 but don't ask for the impossible
epa2007.org, 1 March 2007
Willingness is not in short supply. The six sub-regional entities of the ACP (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) are negotiating Economic and Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the EU. They are striving to end this precarious exercise by 31 December 2007 but the impossible should not be asked for: signing the agreement will be subject to a clear commitment form the EU to initially tackle all pending questions on development issues in the EPA. If negotiations are not concluded in the desired time frame with the regions in need of more time and resources for better preparation and concluding them, they will have to continue and that the delay be notified to the WTO. In this perspective, measures will also be needed for ensuring continuity of trade between the EU and ACP between 31 December 2007 and the entry into force of the EPA: a rendezvous clause will be included in every EPA. This is what ACP ministers in charge of negotiations decided at the end of the [ACP Ministers in charge of EPAs] Council on 27-28 February in Brussels.
[click here to read more]

* Caribbean prime ministers give trade negotiators adjusted EPA mandate
jamaica-gleaner.com, 14 February 2007
Caribbean prime ministers meeting here [in Jamaica] for their mid-term summit have given regional trade negotiators an adjusted mandate designed to break the deadlock in trade talks with the European Union (EU). Neither Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller nor head of the Caribbean Regional Negotiation Machinery (CRNM), Dr. Richard Bernal, would comment on the details of the mandate but they told reporters it was intended to give momentum to the talks aimed at fashioning a new economic partnership agreement with the EU. Bernal said it allows his team some flexiblity to tackle divisive issues.
[click here to read more]

* Internship at CTA (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Theme: Agricultural Trade and market access issues
View job description.


See also acp-eu-trade.org's News section, updated every week!


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Selection from www.acp-eu-trade.org's Library
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* Possibility of obtaining a new ACP-EC waiver at the WTO
http://www.ecdpm.org/dp71
http://www.ecdpm.org/dp71fr
ECDPM Discussion Paper No. 71 - March 2007.
This analysis aims to examine whether the diplomatic and trade environment at the WTO is favourable to the introduction of a new waiver that would extend the Cotonou trade regime between the ACP countries and the European Union which is due to expire on 31 December 2007. If this were the case, what would be the obstacles that must be overcome by the two partners, both from a procedural and legal standpoint, to be able to negotiate its acceptance between now and 31 December 2007? Would a new waiver be the best option for the parties to the Cotonou Agreement to enable them to meet the challenge of ensuring the harmonious integration of the ACP countries into the multilateral trading system?
EN
FR

* Preliminary Overview of On-going Article 37(4) Reviews of the EPA Negotiations
ECDPM - March 2007.
ECDPM has been trying to follow the EPA review process in all ACP regions. Based on the incomplete information gathered so far, this draft paper provides a region-by-region outline of the EPA review(s) process. ECDPM intends to publish a more comprehensive overview of the Article 37(4) reviews when the process will be completed and all relevant documents will be made available. This is an incomplete draft for discussion. A final version will be published once all Joint Reviews are concluded. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

* Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) of the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements
EN
FR (Note de Synthèse)
Price Waterhouse Coopers - 23 March 2007. Draft document for consultation.
This document is a summary of the key findings, policy recommendations and lessons learned, derived from the Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) of the negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States. It is aimed at trade negotiators and other policy makers in both the EU and in the ACP countries.

* The costs to the ACP of exporting to the EU under the GSP
Prepared for the Dutch Minstitry of Foreign Affairs by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Final report - March 2007.
This report provides a technical analysis of the costs that would be incurred by African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states if their exports to the EU were subject to the tariffs applicable under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) rather than those that apply at the present time. The report does not imply that this will happen, that it should happen, or that the GSP is the only alternative to the status quo for those countries that do not join Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). 1 On the contrary, the report concludes that application of the Standard GSP regime does not fulfil the commitment made by the EU in Article 37 (6) of the Cotonou Agreement. It would result in the EU taxing ACP exports, generating revenue that compares unfavourably with aspects of Union-level aid, and is likely to result in the complete cessation of some ACP exports to the EU with significant adverse economic effects.

* Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations and the 2007 Deadline: Mutual Agreement or Mugging?
European Research Office - 16 March 2007.
With major issues in ACP-EU Economic Partnership Agreements still unresolved, the European Commission having largely pursued a strategy of ‘running the clock down’ during 2006 and the deadline for the expiry of the Cotonou trade preferences rapidly approaching, this briefing reviews in summary form the case being presented by the European Commission on the consequences for West and Central African ACP countries of the lapsing of the Cotonou trade preferences from January 1st 2008 and the reimposition of GSP duties on exports to the EU.

* Five points to help secure an ACP-EU deal for the poorest
Open letter from MEPs of the Party of European Socialists PSE. Published in the Financial Times - 13 March 2007.
Sir, Economic partnership agreements will be under discussion when European Union development ministers meet with more than 20 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) ministers at an informal Development Council in Bonn today. The focus will be on how to push forward the EPA negotiations, which are struggling in most of the six regions. The Socialist Group in the European parliament would like to see the six ACP regions succeed in reaching pro-development economic partnership agreements with the EU, and urges ministers to take the following message to the meeting...

* European Commission contribution to An EU Aid for Trade Strategy
European Commission - February 2007. Issue paper for consultation.
The purpose of the present paper is to provide a basis for dialogues between the European Commission and stakeholders on the potential contents of an EU Aid for Trade Strategy. The paper explains the background to the initiative and outlines some tentative Commission views of the coverage of the strategy. It outlines a set of issues on which input from stakeholders would be particularly welcome.

* Summary Report on the Consultative workshop on: A Monitoring Process for the implementation of EPAs
ECDPM-DIE (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik) - 21 February 2007.
As part of their consultation process on elaborating options for monitoring the implementation and impacts of EPAs, ECDPM-DIE organised a one-day consultative workshop with ambassadors, officials, trade and monitoring experts from the ACP and Europe in Brussels on the 21st of February 2007. The purpose of this workshop was to discuss objectives, key features, methodological and institutional options of an EPA monitoring mechanism.

* Article 37(4) Review of the Pacific ACP region EPA Negotiations
Francesco Rampa, ECDPM -  January 2007. Provision of technical support to assist the Pacific ACP Region in the Review of EPA Negotiations: Draft Interim Report submitted to the PacificIslands Forum Secretariat.
This Report reviews the negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the Pacific ACP countries (PACP) and the European Union (EU), in accordance with Article 37(4) of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA). The Report does not intend to analyse the merits of EPA or to assess whether concluding an EPA by 2007 is good or bad for the Pacific ACP region. It presents and discuss the views of PACP stakeholders on the structure, process and substance of the negotiations, their trade and development dimensions, as well as the capacity and preparedness of the region to conclude EPA, in accordance with the terms of reference (ToR) as approved by the PACP Trade Ministers (and reproduced as Annex I to this Report).

 

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Resources from Recent Events
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* Event: The EU, Trade and Development: Are EPAs the right way forward?
Date: 26 March
Conference organised by Open Europe.
Resources:
-> Programme (and proceedings of the meeting when available)

* Event: State of play of the EPA negotiations and the Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA)
Civil Society Dialogue meeting held in Brussels to discuss the state of play of the trade negotiations of the EPAs. The meeting was also the opportunity to present the draft final report of the phase IV of the European Commission‘s Trade Sustainability Impacts Assessment (SIA) on EPAs.
Date: 23 March
Resources:
-> Programme
-> Further documents on the EPA SIA

* Event: Civil Society meeting on EU Aid for Trade strategy
Date: 20 March
The purpose of this meeting was to gather civil society's input on the forthcoming EU Aid for Trade strategy. For this purpose, an issues paper has been prepared. Written comments before and after the meeting are welcome, with the deadline for submitting contributions on 30 April 2007.
Resources:
-> Issue Paper for comments
 
* Event: Ad-Hoc Expert Group Meeting on the Development Interface between the Multilateral Trading System and Regional Trade Agreements
Date: 15-16 March
This meeting addressed: recent trends in RTAs and their developmental and systemic implications; specific market access issues in regional trade negotiations in goods and services; regulatory provisions including intellectual property rights, investment and competition policies; South-South trade integration and cooperation; The interaction between RTAs and the MTS, and possible synergies and complementarities between the two processes.
Resources:
-> Background Note and Programme
-> UNCTAD official notification
-> Opening statement on behalf of Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD
-> Note by UNCTAD Secretariat for delegates on Trade in Services and Development Implications
-> UNCTAD Publication: Multilateralism and Regionalism: the New Interface
-> UNCTAD Report: Trade Capacity Development for Africa

* Event: Informal Meeting of EU Ministers for Development Cooperation and Informal ACP-EU Dialogue on EPAs.
Hosted by the German EU Presidency in Bonn.
Date: 13 March
Resources:
-> ACP Secretariat Press Release
 -> EC press release ahead of the Bonn ACP EPA meeting
-> NGO letter to EU Development Ministers for Bonn meeting
-> Presidency webpage with documents and audio files from the meeting
-> Speech (submission) of the Nigerian Minister at the Bonn meeting
-> Press reports on Bonn meeting
- ‘EU seeks to reassure former colonies over trade’
- ‘EU calls on ex-colonies to conclude new regional trade pacts by end of 2007’
- ‘Poor face up to EU arm-twisting’
- World Bank compilation of press reports on the informal Development Council

* Event: UNIDO/ECOWAS Expert Group Meeting: Information Platform for Investment in African Productive Capacity.
Date: 12-13 March.
This Expert Group Meeting, held in Addis Ababa, brought together African stakeholders at the country and regional levels to agree on a set of activities over the next four years that will drive Africa's industrialization agenda.
Resources:
-> Programme

* Event: First formal meeting on EPAs between EU and the SADC group incorporating South Africa.
Date: 6-7 March 2007
Resources:
-> SADC Press Release

* Event: ACP-EC Joint Ministerial Trade Council (JMTC)
Date: 1 March
Resources:
-> Civil Society letter to the Ministers attending the JMTC
-> European Commission Press Release on the JMTC
-> Press report on the JMTC: ‘EU in Dialogue of Deaf with poor countries’

* Event: Oral evidence to UK House of Commons from EC Trade Commissioner and EC officials on EU trade policy and developments (including EPAs)
Date: 23 January
Resources:
-> Official transcript of proceedings
-> International Development Committee report: ‘EU Development and Trade policies, an update’
-> Christian Aid backs International Development Committee over EU ‘trade abuse’ accusation

* Upcoming Event: Meeting on the Evaluation of the DG Trade’s Civil Society Dialogue
Date: 19 or 20 April
In October 2006 a meeting was held to discuss the draft report of the external Evaluation of the Civil Society Dialogue. The final report is now available. DG Trade wishes to organise with all interested civil society organisations a meeting to discuss how we should take the dialogue forward. To prepare for the discussion, we encourage you to send us any written contributions and comments concerning the structure of the meeting and/or the content of the proposed recommendations by 31 March 2007. Travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with the guidelines.
Resources:
-> Further information
-> Final CSD Evaluation Report
-> Annex 1: Online Questionnaires
-> Annex 2: Online Questionnaires
-> Terms of Reference of the CSD Evaluation

 

Check our website for more events and resources!  http://www.acp-eu-trade.org

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Copyright: ECDPM 2007