Transcript Slide 1
External Trade EPAs and Development Peter Thompson Director: EPAs and Development DG TRADE 19 May 2008 External Trade Where do EPAs come from? • Why? Failure of old formula to deliver development • Where? ACPs • How? Cotonou Agreement (2000) • When? End 2007 (expiry of Cotonou trade provisions and WTO waiver) External Trade Unilateral Preferences under Cotonou • Did secure trade position - BUT THE WORLD CHANGED AND THEY • • • • • • Entrenched marginalisation and vulnerability Restricted innovation and diversification Were unable to guarantee incomes as prices fell Offered no incentive for better governance Discriminated among developing countries No longer complied with global rules External Trade Share of imports from ACP in EU total imports, 1976-2005 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0% 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 External Trade ACP exports to EU, 1997-2007 ACP exports to EU in bn € 18 16 Agriculture 14 12 Fuels 10 8 6 Industry 4 2 0 1997 2005 2007 External Trade Lack of ACP export diversification: 3 main products = 54% of exports to the EU (2005): other 34% Fuels 37% Sugar 2% Aluminium 3% Wood Fish 3% 4% Cocoa 6% Diamonds 11% External Trade EPAs are one of EU’s Trade Policy Tools for Development • WTO Rules • Aid for Trade and Cooperation • GSP (all Developing Countries) • GSP+ (implementation of labour rights and environment) • EBA (all LDC) • EPA (New Cotonou trade regime for 77 ACP + South Africa) External Trade What are EPAs supposed to do? • Integrate ACPs into world economy (Globalisation) • Improve economic attractiveness (Governance) • Improve competitiveness • Promote diversification • Provide more, better and cheaper goods and services External Trade What’s new in EPAs? • Trade Agreement with development objectives • Reciprocal (but not symmetric) • Unlike other FTAs linked to Association Agreements • Assistance in text (TRA) External Trade EPA State of Play January 2008 • 9 LDCs and 26 non-LDCs countries have entered into EPAs and interim EPAs: - 1 comprehensive EPA with the Caribbean region - 7 interim agreements based on WTO compatible goods trade arrangements • 32 LDCs beneficiating from the EBA initiative • 10 non-LDCs under the standard GSP External Trade EPA Caribbean Antigua & Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guyana Haiti Jamaica St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Vincent & Grenadines Surinam Trinidad & Tobago Pacific Papua New Guinea Fiji EBA East Timor Kiribati Samoa Salomon Islands Tuvalu Vanuatu GSP Cook Islands Tonga Marshall Islands Niue Micronesia Palau Nauru External Trade EPA EBA West Africa Ivory Coast Ghana Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Guinea Guinea Bissau Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Senegal Sierra Leone Togo SADC Botswana Lesotho Namibia Mozambique Swaziland Angola GSP Nigeria External Trade EPA Central Africa Cameroon Eastern / Southern Africa EAC Burundi Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda EBA Central African Rep. DR Congo (Kinshasa) Chad Equatorial Guinea São Tomé e Príncipe ESA Comoros Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles Zimbabwe GSP Gabon Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Malawi Somalia Sudan Zambia NB. Non-LDCs are shown in bold and South Africa is not included as its TDCA trade regime is unaffected by the expiry of the Cotonou agreement External Trade What’s in? • TRADE IN GOODS Duty free / Quotas free access to EU Market Short transition periods for RICE and SUGAR ACP level of liberalisation 80 % in value over 15 years • RULES OF ORIGIN Based on the Cotonou Agreement Improvement on specific areas: TEXTILE and CLOTHING sector, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES • SAFEGUARDS Exception from WTO multilateral safeguard measures Asymmetry, infant industries clauses External Trade What’s in? • CUSTOMS AND TRADE FACILITATION Simplification and modernisation of customs procedures Aid for trade • TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE Increasing protection of health, safety, consumers and environment Improving capacity to eliminate unnecessary obstacles to trade • SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES Commitments to the term of the WTO SPS Agreement Cooperation to enhance relevant information exchange Implementation of SPS measures External Trade HOW DEVELOPMENT? • Regional Preparatory Task Forces • EU Aid for Trade strategy (EU MSs €s) • €s from the European Development Fund (10th EDF 2008 – 2013) Regional programmes reinforced by 35% National indicative programmes: competitiveness governance and public administration reforms Infrastructure External Trade NEXT STEPS 1. Signature/Ratification process WTO Notification 2. Completion of full regional EPAs All regions fully committed to conclude Timing: end 2008/mid 2009