Easy market access deals with EU are flawed
Sep 24, 2007
NEGOTIATIONS have been running since September 2002 between the European Union (EU) and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The negotiations will close in three months. Is Uganda, a member of ACP, ready for EPAs?
By Belinda Were
NEGOTIATIONS have been running since September 2002 between the European Union (EU) and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The negotiations will close in three months. Is Uganda, a member of ACP, ready for EPAs?
The negotiations will result into new free trade agreements under which ACP countries will have preferential access to the European markets.
It is disturbing that awareness among the public as regards EPA negotiations is still very minimal yet these negotiations impact greatly on our economy and livelihood. The new agreements will replace the Lome accords.
It is unlikely that the ACP countries will gain better access to the European market. Rather, local industries will be put under severe strain by competition from cheap European imports, which are often subsidised. The European Commission’s own impact assessment notes that EPAs could lead to the collapse of the manufacturing sector in some African countries.
The issues that developing countries worked hard to get rid of at the WTO are the same bottlenecks EU is pushing for. ACP countries face further constraints on policy-making while European corporations gain new powers. The experience with bilateral investment treaties between ACP and European countries shows that investment agreements do not by themselves attract foreign capital; what matters are infrastructure, market size and human capital.
The Cotonou Agreement intended that EPAs contribute to regional integration. However, regional integration projects are being undermined where the poorest countries are put in a no-win situation. They either maintain their non-reciprocal access to the European market under the “Everything but Arms Programme†but leave their regional grouping, or stick with their regional partners and open their market to the EU.
The EPA negotiations appear unwelcoming for ACP countries and a number of civil societies are calling for EU member states to take action to create fair play for developing countries. The Government should look into Uganda’s performance as an economy and determine if we can stand the heat. Give-and-take mentality must be withdrawn from the EPA negotiating mandate and some issues rejected to have fair play.
The writer is a student of Makerere University
NEGOTIATIONS have been running since September 2002 between the European Union (EU) and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The negotiations will close in three months. Is Uganda, a member of ACP, ready for EPAs?
The negotiations will result into new free trade agreements under which ACP countries will have preferential access to the European markets.
It is disturbing that awareness among the public as regards EPA negotiations is still very minimal yet these negotiations impact greatly on our economy and livelihood. The new agreements will replace the Lome accords.
It is unlikely that the ACP countries will gain better access to the European market. Rather, local industries will be put under severe strain by competition from cheap European imports, which are often subsidised. The European Commission’s own impact assessment notes that EPAs could lead to the collapse of the manufacturing sector in some African countries.
The issues that developing countries worked hard to get rid of at the WTO are the same bottlenecks EU is pushing for. ACP countries face further constraints on policy-making while European corporations gain new powers. The experience with bilateral investment treaties between ACP and European countries shows that investment agreements do not by themselves attract foreign capital; what matters are infrastructure, market size and human capital.
The Cotonou Agreement intended that EPAs contribute to regional integration. However, regional integration projects are being undermined where the poorest countries are put in a no-win situation. They either maintain their non-reciprocal access to the European market under the “Everything but Arms Programme†but leave their regional grouping, or stick with their regional partners and open their market to the EU.
The EPA negotiations appear unwelcoming for ACP countries and a number of civil societies are calling for EU member states to take action to create fair play for developing countries. The Government should look into Uganda’s performance as an economy and determine if we can stand the heat. Give-and-take mentality must be withdrawn from the EPA negotiating mandate and some issues rejected to have fair play.
The writer is a student of Makerere University