Economic Partnership Agreements [EPA’s] are of great importance not only to economists but to all business communities as they as they affect the political and sociological future of Africa as a whole in general and in the Sub-regions in particular. Nigeria’s export trade is very much related to such EPA’s and we feel strongly we should make it available, frequently updated, to the benefit of our members.

• Negotiation of an Economic Partnership Agreement between West Africa and the European Community
  (Meeting of Chief Negotiators) Brussels, 5 February 2007

• African Union [AU] [Ex Organisation of African Unity, [OAU]

• The New Partnership for Africa’s Development, [NEPAD]

• Economic Community of West African States, [ECOWAS],

• African Growth and Opportunity Act, [AGOA], Go to AGOA, News Page

• European Union/African Caribbean Pacific Agreement, [EU/ACP AGREEMENT] 

• Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, [COMESA]

• Southern Africa Development Community, [SADC]

• ECOWAS Common External Tariff, [CET]

Websites to other Economic Partnership Agreements:

Central African Economic  and Monetary Community - [CEMAC]: www.cemac.net

Economic Commission for Africa [ECA], Website www.uneca.org

West Africa Economic and Monetary Union [UEMOA] www.uemoa.int

Southern African Customs Union [SACU] www.azafrica.com

International Monetary Fund [IMF], Website www.imf.org

Economic Community of West African States, [ECOWAS]

BRIEFS ON ECOWAS

ECOWAS is the Economic Community of West African States.   It was established on 28^th May, 1975, in Lagos, Nigeria with the objective of promoting cooperation an integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to ensure economic growth, foster relations among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.

ECOWAS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

·          Equality and interdependence of Member States

·          Inter-State co-operation

·          Solidarity and collective self-reliance

·          Harmonisation of policies and integration programmes

·          Non-aggression between Member States

·          Maintenance of regional peace, stability and security

·          Peaceful settlement of disputes

·          Respect, promotion and protection of human rights

·          Promotion an d consolidation of democracy

·          Accountability, economic and social justice

  The fifteen (15) West African States that constitute ECOWAS

ECOWAS Institutions

·          The Authority of Heads of State and Government

·          The Council of Ministers

·          The Executive Secretariat

·          The Community Parliament

·          The Community Court of Justice

·          ECOWAS bank for Investment and Development (EBID)

·          ECOWAS Regional Development Funds (ERDF)

·          ECOWAS Regional Development Funds (ERIB)

·          West African Monetary Agency (WAMA)

·          West African Monetary Institute

·          West African Health Organisation

·          The Specialised Technical Commission

ARTICLE 3 : AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.  The aims of the Community are to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent.

2.   In order to achieve the aims set out in the paragraph above, and in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Treaty, the Community shall, by stages, ensure;

a) the harmonisation and co-ordination of national policies and the promotion of integration programmes, projects and activities, particularly in food, agriculture and natural resources, industry, transport and communications, energy, trade, money and finance, taxation, economic reform policies, human resources, education, information, culture, science, technology, services, health, tourism, legal matters;

 b) the harmonisation and co-ordination of policies for the protection of the   environment;

 c) the promotion of the establishment of joint production enterprises;

 d) the establishment of a common market through:

i) the liberalisation of trade by the abolition, among Member States, of customs duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition among Member States, of non-tariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at the Community level;

ii)  the adoption of a common external tariff and.,a common trade policy vis-a-vis third
countries;

iii)  the removal, between Member States, of obstacles to the free movement of persons, goods, service and capital, and to the right of residence and establishment;

e) the establishment of an economic union through the adoption of common policies in the
economic, financial social and cultural sectors, and the creation of a monetary union.

f) the promotion of joint ventures by private sectors enterprises and other economic operators, in particular through the adoption of a regional agreement on cross-border investments;

g) the adoption of measures for the integration of the private sectors, particularly the creation   of an enabling environment to promote small and medium scale enterprises;

h) the establishment of an enabling legal environment;

i) the harmonisation of national investment codes leading to the adoption of a single Community investment code;

j) the harmonisation of standards and measures;

k) the promotion of balanced development of the region, paying attention to the special problems of each Member State particularly those of landlocked and small island Member States;

 l) the encouragement and strengthening of relations and the promotion of the flow of information particularly among rural populations, women and youth organisations and socio-professional organisations such as associations of the media, business men and women, workers, and trade unions;

m) the adoption of a Community population policy which takes into account the need for a balance between demographic factors and socioeconomic development;

n) the establishment of a fund for co-operation, compensation and development; and

o) any other activity that Member States may decide to undertake jointly with a view to attaining Community objectives.

ARTICLE 4 :  FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, in pursuit of the objectives stated in Article 3 of this
Treaty, solemnly affirm and declare their adherence to the following principles:

a) equality and inter-dependence of Member States;

b) solidarity and collective self-reliance;

c) inter-State co-operation, harmonisation of policies and integration of programmes;

d) non-aggression between Member States;

e) maintenance of regional peace, stability and security through the promotion and strengthening of good neighbourliness;

f) peaceful settlement of disputes among Member States, active Co-operation between neighbouring countries and promotion of a peaceful environment as a prerequisite for economic development;

g) recognition promotion and protection of human and peoples' rights in accordance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples'  Rights;

h) accountability, economic and social justice and popular participation in development;

i) recognition and observance of the rules and principles of the Community;

j) promotion and consolidation of a democratic system of governance in each  Member State as envisaged by the Declaration of Political Principles adopted in Abuja on 6 July, 1991; and

k) equitable and just distribution of the costs and benefits of economic co-operation and integration. 

FRENCH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGES, ALL TEXTS BEING EQUALLY AUTHENTIC.

Information source:  www.cedaeo.org           

Related websites: www.ecowas.org, www.ghana.gov.gh/ecowas/ecowas/php,

==================================

European Union/African Caribbean Pacific Agreement,  EU/ACP Agreement

Cotonou agreement

ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

NEGOTIATIONS

A BRIEF GUIDE

  EPAs… KEY TERMS  

·        Free trade agreements / free trade areas

·        Reciprocity  / non-reciprocity

·        WTO compatibility

·        Preferential trade / preferential market access

·        Customs union

·        Special and differential treatment

·        General system of preferences (GSP)

·        Everything but arms / LCDs

·        Trade related areas / Singapore issues

·        Open regionalism

·        Non-execution clause  

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­EPA negotiations will be about:

Ø      Elimination of tariffs on goods:

(around 90% of all trade over a ten year period) and services liberalisation

Ø      Changes to the regulatory framework:

Investment rules and policy, competition, intellectual property rights etc. (WTO Singapore issues)  

­ACP-EU Partnership

Agreement / Cotonou Agreement

Ø      Formal negotiations of the new trading arrangements [Economic Partnership Agreements] started in September 2002 and the new trading arrangements shall enter into force by 1^st January 2008 (Article 37.1)

Ø      Negotiations of the EPA will be undertaken by countries which consider themselves in a position to do so, at the level they consider appropriate and in accordance with the procedures agreed by the ACP Group. (Article 37.4)

Ø      In 2004, the Community will assess the situation of the non-LCDs which decide they are not in a position to enter into EPAs and will examine all alternative possibilities, in order to provide these countries with a new framework for trade which has equivalent to their existing situation and in conformity to WTO rules. (Article 37.6)

Ø      Negotiations of the EPA shall aim notably at establishing the timetable for the progressive removal of barriers between the Parties in accordance with the relevant WTO rules. (Article 37.7)   

v     European Commission negotiating directives for EPAs (2002)

Ø      Sets out the different areas of negotiation desired by the EU and its negotiating demands

v     ACP negotiations guidelines for EPAs (2002)

Ø      Drawn up to provide guidelines for sub-regions to negotiate, to ensure coherence between sub-regional groupings’ positions.

Negotiating mandates and timetables (road maps) have been prepared by the regional institutions to outline their negotiating positions and demands and the schedules for negotiations. Degrees of detail on positions vary in the documents. The pace of the negotiations has also moved forward differently in each region.

·        East & Southern Africa

-         Negotiating Mandate and Joint Road Map (Feb. 04)

·        ECOWAS

-         Joint Road Map for EPA negotiations (Draft, Feb. 04)

·        SADC

-         Negotiating Guidelines (launch schedule for July 04)

·        CARIBBEAN

-         Negotiating Mandate and Joint Workplan (April 04)

·        PACIFIC

-         Status to be determined

·        ALL ACP NEGOTIATIONS

-         Rules of origin discussions underway, non-execution clause

Ø      WTO compatibility of Lome non-reciprocal regime

Ø      EU external trade policy: increase access for EU corporations through free trade agreements

Ø      Emphasis in the Cotonou Agreement is on the integration of ACP countries into the global economy: EPAs are a stepping stone to global integration and are therefore instruments for development

Ø      EPAs will encourage investment from EU firms

Ø      System of unilateral preferences did not work; ACP countries need to become competitive  

Ø      Dependence of ACP exports on EU preferences; countries are obliged to go along with what the EU puts forward even if it is not their most preferred option;

Ø      ACP countries are liberalizing anyway; EPAs are part of a trend.

Ø      Negotiating is not agreeing: the aim of governments is to get a deal which will benefit their countries, and particularly to ensure that EPAs have a strong development dimension to compensate for the adjustment costs.  

EPAs - WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?

v     ACP countries may either be part of an EPA (negotiated as a region or individually) or be part of the EU’s General System of Preferences (less favourable).

v     LDCs can access EU markets through the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) initiative, without being part of an EPA.

v     Both the GSP and the EBA are non-reciprocal, but they are decided unilaterally by the EU (ie. not negotiated) 

v     The other options would be for the EU and the ACP Group to put together a non-reciprocal trade arrangement which accommodates WTO rules. They could also propose changes to WTO rules that would allow for continued non-reciprocal trade. This is not an option that the EU is prepared to consider.

v     It is well demonstrated that free trade areas with countries of unequal development levels will tend to benefit the stronger members of the free trade area far more than the weaker members.

v     Free trade areas with the EU carry many dangers for ACP economies and their prospects for self-reliant growth, diversification, including:

-         Unfair competition, implications for productive sector development, industrialization efforts, diversification

-          Less trade within African regions

-         Deregulation, privatization through investment, services agreements

-         Limited ability to take advantage of European markets either because of ‘supply capacity’ (weak domestic production) or because of non-tariff barriers (rules of origin, SPS measures etc.)

-         Implications of EU enlargement

-         Losses of government revenue from tariff reductions  

Ø      Cotonou Agreement is supposed to be about developing ACP countries, but all the costs of EPAs will be borne by the ACP countries rather that the EU

Ø      EPAs claim to support regional integration but ACP producers will probably lose regional markets as a result of additional competition from the EU.

Ø      Cotonou agreement provides for countries not to sign on to EPAs but no countries are examining the possibility of opting out of an EPA despite the negative implications

Ø      While the EU states that EPAs will be flexible and will take account into the development level of the ACP countries, the timelines for negotiations and for implementing EPAs are very short (12 years)

Ø      WTO compatibility, rather than development indicators are the bench mark for EPAs.

Ø      LCD countries are negotiating EPAs, even though they are the group with nothing gain (access to EU markets are guaranteed by the EBA initiative) and more to lose (through liberalisation)

Ø      The EUs negotiating mandate does not provide for additional funding to compensate for the very large losses in public revenue

Ø      The ACP countries are very heavily reliant on the EU for funding for capacity building and technical support in the negotiations, even though there are major disagreements between the two parties on the approach, content and outcome of the negotiations

Ø      ACP countries’ collective positions on WTO issues (eg. on investment, competition, procurement) are in danger of being contradicted by their positions in the EPA negotiations. Generally there is a problem of backtracking on their own positions

ECOWAS-EU Road Map:

3 Key areas of concern

v     Orientation of the Road Map

v     Institutional

v     Practical / Tactical  

v     Instruments for Development Deeper Liberalisation?

-          Regulatory framework primarily for facilitating investment and trade (neo-liberal)

-         Infrastructure development

-         Enhancing competitiveness of the private sector