ADECARIM

 

 *******************************************************************
The acp-eu-trade.org newsletter -- No. 21/September 2008
*******************************************************************

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Les ONG remettent 100.000 signatures contre les APE
Le Vif, 23 septembre 2008
Quelques dizaines de personnes ont manifesté mardi matin devant le Parlement européen contre la poursuite des négociations sur les APE, les "accords de partenariat économique" appelés à encadrer les relations futures entre l'Europe et ses anciennes colonies.

 

* EU expects EPA delays
BBC Caribbean News in Brief, 18 September 2008
The European Union has acknowledged that negotiations for controversial new trade and investment deals with some ACP regions could take another year or more. The Caribbean is the only region to conclude a full economic partnership agreement with Europe. The EU's whose executive arm, the European Commission, says the negotiations with Africa and the Pacific still face major hurdles.
This follows consultations this week in Brussels between Louis Michel, the commissioner in charge of development, and representatives of the African Union. France, the current holder of the EU Presidency, has said it is willing to listen more carefully to the concerns raised by the ACP.

 

* Chief EPA negotiators meet in Brussels
ACP press statement, 4 September 2008
Chief negotiators from six regions of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group, are in Brussels, Belgium to discuss the state of play of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in ACP States. […]The objective of the meeting is to come up with a set of recommendations that will guide the Ministerial Trade Committee in its work of charting the best way forward for the ACP Group in its future trade relations with the European Union.
EN FR

 

* EU appeals against WTO banana rulings
EUbusiness/AFP, 28 August 2008
The European Commission said Thursday it had launched an appeal to overturn a WTO ruling against Europe in a long running trade dispute over bananas with the United States and Ecuador. The European Union's executive arm said it was taking the action after efforts to negotiate a settlement fell apart during broader WTO free trade negotiations in July, which also collapsed.
-> see also Bananas - WTO panel appeal, press release, European Commission, 27 August 2008
-> see also: *Cameroun : Les producteurs de banane des pays ACP harmonisent leurs positions à Yaoundé
Gaboneco/ Xinhuanet, 27 août 2008
Les producteurs de banane de la zone Afrique, Caraïbe et Pacifique (ACP) sont en conclave à Yaoundé depuis le 25 août dernier pour arrêter une position commune face à l'Organisation mondiale du Commerce (OMC), suite à la perte de certains privilèges sur le marché européen. La réduction des taxes douanières aux producteurs latino américains sur le marché européen impose une révision du système de subvention de ce secteur agricole.

 

 

* President reiterates EPA concerns at UN General Assembly
Office of the President, Republic of Guyana, 24 September 2008
Reflecting his unchanged position on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Commission and CARIFORUM countries, President Bharrat Jagdeo, during his address last evening to the 63rd United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, said the agreement may fundamentally affect development in ‘our societies and jeopardize future negotiating positions at the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’. […]He had indicated too, that he would continue to oppose the ‘flawed deal’ to the end and that Guyana may sign on but may do so reluctantly to save itself from high tariffs which may be imposed on the country for non-signing. 

* EC Trade Commissioner doubts on Guyana's EPA stand
Rickey Singh, The Jamaica Observer, 23 September 2008
European Commission (EC) Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson says he is "doubtful" about a resolution to Guyana's decision to sign just a "goods only" term of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), but has left the door open for likely "adjustments" once the text is signed in its present form before the October 31 deadline.

 

* Commentary: Legal Opinion: 'Goods Only' EPA consistent with WTO rules
Ronald Sanders, Caribbean Net News, 20 September 2008
Dr Lorand Bartels, a Lecturer in International Law and Fellow of Trinity Hall at Cambridge University, has advised that it is possible for all, a few, or even one, of the Caribbean countries on whose behalf an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) has been initialled with the European Union (EU) to sign a “goods only” agreement that satisfies World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

 

* Alternatives to signing the CARIFORUM-EC EPA?
RNM UPDATE 0806, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, 19 September 2008
The recently convened national consultation in Guyana culminated in a consensus reflecting perspectives on the CARIFORUM-EC Economic Partnership Agreement which was initialled in December 2007. The following will discuss some of those perspectives as they relate to the signing of the EPA, the treatment of Singapore issues in the EPA, the relevance of a Services component in the EPA, and the maintenance of ACP solidarity in the EPA process.

 

*Guyana opposition press release on the signing of the EPA
http://livinguyana.blogspot.com, 17 September 2008
While the PNCR can see merit in some of the arguments advanced by President Bharrat Jagdeo, it has strong reservations about the timing of those arguments. The Party believes that it would be useful to spend some time ventilating these issues.

 

* Other countries may be ashamed to reconsider EPA signing, says Guyana president
Caribbean Net News, 12 September 2008
Just back from the 14th Special Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government meeting in Barbados where he stood alone in his stance against the current form of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between CARIFORUM and the African Pacific and Caribbean (ACP) countries, President Bharrat Jagdeo Thursday explained his position at the forum during a press conference at State House.

 

* CARIFORUM agrees to sign EPA
Press release 283/2008, CARICOM, 11 September 2008
The Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) has agreed to a date in October to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU). The actual date is to be finalised after discussion with the EU but it is scheduled to be in time to ensure provisional application by 31 October 2008. Thirteen of the 15 Member States indicated their readiness to sign the Agreement at the Third Meeting of the Heads of State and Government of CARIFORUM held at the Sherbourne Centre, Barbados on Wednesday. Haiti, which was represented at Ambassadorial level, indicated that there were reservations which had to be cleared at the Presidential level before signature of the document, while Guyana stated that it was not in a position to sign the EPA.

 

 

 

* West Africa: Ecowas, EU Want More Cooperation
Bhoyy Jalloh, Concord Times/allAfrica.com, 15 September 2008
President of the ECOWAS commission Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas has described the European Union as a "dependable, reliable and constant partner" in the West African integration process. […]Dr. Chambas made these remarks at the ECOWAS commission in Abuja on September 10 this year while receiving two European commissioners who paid him a visit to further deepen the cooperation between their the institutions.

 

* APE- Implication juridique des paraphes : Le Ghana et la Côte d’Ivoire pas à l’abri des poursuites
Mohamed Gueye, Le Quotidien, 11 septembre 2008
Un juriste nigérian, membre du Réseau africain sur le commerce (Atn), juge que des poursuites judiciaires pourraient être envisagées contre les membres de la Cedeao qui ont violé le traité de cette organisation, et menacé l’unité sous-régionale. Même si, par ailleurs, ces Ape intérimaires ne valent pas plus que des chiffons de papier, sur le plan juridique.

 

 

 

* Cinq questions à Martin Lofete
Louis-Paul Eyenga Sana, Congo Forum, 19 septembre 2008
Quels sont les objectifs poursuivis par les syndicats dans ces négociations ?
C’est pour cela qu’il a été mis sur pied un plan d’actions autour des objectifs suivants : consolidation des groupes économiques régionaux (RDC et CEEAC), examen des impacts sociaux et économiques des APE, renforcement de l’implication et de la part des syndicats et des autres partenaires sociaux en négociation sur les APE, actions de persuasion en faveur de l’inclusion de la dimension sociale dans les APE et d’une issue des négociations sur les chapitres commerciaux, positives, équilibrées et favorables au développement, diffusion des informations sur les APE, création d’une instance chargée de concertation des réseaux et d’alliances pour l’élaboration et la mise en œuvre des APE.

 

*Contre les APE : La CAD-Mali publie « Stop APE »
L’Essor, n°16287, 18 septembre 2008
Les impacts potentiels attendus des Accords de partenariat économique (APE) entre l'Union européenne et les pays d'Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP) s'annoncent dramatiques.
C'est la conclusion à laquelle est parvenue la Coalition des alternatives africaines, dette et développement (CAD) Mali après une étude réalisée sur les impacts des APE sur les services sociaux de base, notamment l'éducation, la santé et l'alimentation.
La dissémination du contenu de ce document a fait l'objet d'une table ronde entre la société civile, les structures techniques de l'État et l'Union européenne. Les travaux de cette rencontre se sont déroulés mardi à la Maison du partenariat en présence du représentant du secrétariat national de la CAD-Mali, Maouloud Ben Kattra.

  

 

Le Mauricien, 25 septembre 2008
Président de la Commission des Affaires étrangères du MMM, notre invité, que l'on peut considérer comme le Shadow Foreign Minister mauve, s'intéresse surtout, dans la présente interview, aux accords de partenariat économique entre les pays du groupe Afrique-Caraïbes-Pacifique (ACP) et l'Europe, dans le cadre de l'accord de Cotonou.

 

* EU and East African Community (EAC) hold EPA technical talks in Bujumbura (15-17 September 2008)
Press release, European Commission, 24 September 2008
The meeting was held in a very good and cooperative atmosphere and net progress was recorded to all discussed issues. Technical discussions were divided among two clusters: Cluster I on Market Access - including customs and trade facilitation; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; technical barriers to trade; standstill, MFN, duties and taxes on exports, anti-dumping and countervailing measures and safeguards for infant industry, and Cluster II on Economic and Development Co-operation.

 

* Historic EAC-SADC-COMESA Summit planned
Press release, EAC, 24 September 2008
The Chief Executive Officers of the EAC, COMESA and SADC -  Amb. Juma Mwapachu, Secretary General of the EAC;  SADC,  represented by Assistant Executive  Secretary, Eng. Joao Caholo ; and  COMESA, represented by Assistant Secretary General,  Mr Stephen  Karangizi  - held Preparatory Meeting in Nairobi today, 24 September 2008 for the first Tripartite EAC-SADC-COMESA Summit of Heads of State that is planned to  be held in Kampala on 20 October 2008.

 

* Tanzania, Uganda win first round of EAC talks
Dorothy Nakaweesi, Daily Monitor/tralac, 3 September 2008
Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, considered poorer economies than Kenya, will have some protection from trade imbalances after a spirited appeal was made while the region prepares for the free movement of goods, services and labour which will come in 2010. […]This follows the decision by the EAC Secretariat last week to include clauses in the protocol that will protect private businesses in those countries once the Common Market is launched in 2010.

 

 

* South Africa: European Trade Boss in Bid to Sell EPA to Country
Chris Van Gass, Business Day, 10 September 2008
Europe’s top agriculture official, Mariann Fischer Boel, was expected to meet her South African counterparts in agriculture and trade and industry yesterday in an attempt to convince SA to sign a European Union (EU) trade partnership agreement (EPA), as part of the EU’s commitment to liberalise international trade with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

 

* Southern Africa: Free Trade Deal Full of Potential - And Danger
Stephanie Nieuwoudt, Inter Press Service, 25 August 2008
The launch of a free trade area (FTA) within the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has brought the region one step closer to a regional customs union by 2010. But the launch of the FTA at the recent SADC heads of state summit was met with mixed reaction.
According to Taku Fundira, an analyst at the Trade Law Centre of Southern Africa (TRALAC), the FTA is ‘‘intended to act as a catalyst for increased regional integration and to facilitate trade and investment flows within the region.’’ TRALAC is a think tank based in Stellenbosch near Cape Town.

 

 

* Economic partnership talks: Pacific tells Europeans to focus on what we can do
Solomon Star, 22 September 2008
Pacific Island countries, including Solomon Islands, have told the European Union they remain committed to concluding a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by year’s end. And because not all of them will sign up to the ‘trade in goods’ part, they want to focus on issues where agreement can be easiest reached.
Robert Sisilo, leader of the Solomon Islands delegation at the talks in Brussels, gave details of the current talks and said these issues include: …
-> see also: * Sisilo challenges EU over trade agreement
Solomon Star, 24 September 2008
Solomon Islands and other Pacific Island countries will pay the highest price if they forego their right to protect their infant industries, the European Union (EU) was told, Monday.

 

* David and Goliath battle
Maureen Penjueli, The Fiji Times Online, 11 September 2008
Pacific trade officials head to Brussels this week to hammer out the details of a new Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union - amidst worldwide concern that the EU has failed to offer genuine development agreements to its ex-colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (the ACP).

 

 

* Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the SADC EPA States, on
the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, on the other
part
Published by the Council of the European Union, annex to the proposal for a Council decision on the signature and provisional application of the agreement, 22 September 2008
-> see on rules of origin: * Protocol 1 concerning the definition of the concept of "Originating
products" and methods of administrative cooperation
-> * Statement by Namibia
-> see for the liberalisation schedules:
* Customs duties applicable on imports into the EU of products originating in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland (BLNS) and Mozambique
Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

* Customs duties applicable on imports into Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland of products originating in the EC
* Customs duties applicable on imports into Mozambique of products originating in the EC
-> Proposal for a Council Decision on the signature and provisional application of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one part, and the SADC EPA States, on the other part
Proposal by the European Commission, 19 September 2008 EN FR

-> Proposal for a Council Decision concluding the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, on the one part, and the SADC EPA States, on the other part
Proposal by the European Commission, 19 September 2008 EN  FR

 

* Economic Development in Africa 2008. Export performance following trade liberalization: Some patterns and policy perspectives
UNCTAD, 15 September 2008
The Report proposes some policies that could help Africa to refocus its development priorities on structural transformation in order to increase the continent´s supply capacity and export response. These policy proposals are underscored by the observation that export development requires more than trade liberalization and that trade policy needs to be closely linked to complementary and clearly defined agricultural and industrial sector development policies.
EN  FR

 

* European Parliament resolution of 4 September 2008 on Trade in services
“The European Parliament […]
26. Takes note of the results achieved in the Economic Partnership Agreement with the Caribbean Forum of ACP States (CARIFORUM); believes that trade in services is a vehicle for development subject to the condition that sound and transparent domestic regulations to govern services are in place; calls for universal, accessible, sustainable and affordable public services with high-quality standards to be ensured for all;
27.  Notes that the investment chapter of the CARIFORUM EPA guarantees to foreign investors their expected benefits, as a result of commitments made under that Agreement;
28.  Supports specifically the agreement on Mode 4 in the EU-CARIFORUM agreement; considers this to be a means of avoiding the brain drain;[…]”
EN  FR

 

* ACP-EU trade issues in the coffee sector
Executive Brief, CTA, 3 September 2008
The share of ACP countries in world coffee exports has almost halved over the last 20 years, and in 2007 made up only 13.5% of world trade; this was partly because of the rise of production in Indonesia and Vietnam. All major ACP producers are in Africa with the exception of Papua New Guinea. The EU25 account for 57% of total consumption of coffee globally, and remain the dominant market for ACP producers.

EN  FR

 

 

* Assessing the Development Friendliness of Dispute Settlement Mechanisms in the Economic Partnership Agreements & Analytical and Comparative Guide to the Dispute Settlement Provisions in the EU’s FTAs
Mehmet Karli, University of Oxford, paper commissioned by Oxfam International, August 2008
This study aims at assessing the ‘development friendliness’ of the dispute settlement (DS) mechanisms provided for in the newly initialled EPAs between the ACP countries and the EU. EPAs concluded with the CARIFORUM, SADC, Pacific States, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon contain new DS mechanisms and they form the subject of the research.
The DS mechanisms provided for in these agreements are representative of a fundamental shift in the EU’s DS policies towards a judicial model largely inspired by the WTO DS mechanism. This shift has first started with the Mexico and Chile FTAs. Therefore, the EPA DS mechanisms are examined in comparison with the WTO DSU, and Chile and Mexico FTAs’ DS provisions.

 

* An Introduction to the EU Scheme of Generalised Tariff Preferences
DG Trade, European Commission, July 2008
This powerpoint presentation gives an overview of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), including GSP+ and the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. It also covers the new GSP regulation for the period 2009-2011.

 

* Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific Countries - What Is at Stake for Senegal?
Valdete Berisha-Krasniqi, Antoine Bouët and Simon Mevel, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Discussion Paper No. 765, April 2008
Using the MIRAGE computable general equilibrium model the study examines the
potential impact of Economic Partnership Agreements on ACP countries with a special focus on Senegal.

 

 

* Event: Africa-EU Ministerial Troika Meeting
Date: 16 September 2008
According to the Communiqué of the meeting, the commitment made at the Africa-EU Summit in Lisbon (December 2007) will be implemented : “Ministers reaffirmed the importance of continuing discussions at the political level in order to effectively address the still contentious issues in the context of full and comprehensive EPAs”.
Resources:
-> Communiqué

 

*Event: Inaugural European Union-Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Troika, Brussels
Date: 16 September 2008
According to the communiqué of the meeting, “PACPS and the EU remain committed to building a long term partnership and concluding by the end of 2008 a comprehensive EPA fully supportive of the developmental aspirations of the PACPS and one that fosters regional integration.”
Resources:
-> Final communiqué

 

* Event: 13th Session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly, Brussels
Date: 9 September 2008
Resources:
-> Statement by the Secretary-General EN  FR

 

*Event: UNIDO workshop on “Aid for Trade: An Industrial Agenda for Least Developed Countries”
Date: 8-9 September 2008
The aim of the workshop is to deliberate on how to translate Aid for Trade (AfT) into concrete actions, aimed at accelerating the industrial transformation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The Workshop is a part of the preparatory process for the Conference of the Ministers of Industry from the LDCs which will be held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from 19-20 November 2008.
Resources:
-> press release announcing the workshop

 

* Evénement: Troisième édition de l’Académie d’automne des journalistes économiques de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique centrale, Douala
Date : 9-11 septembre 2008
Ressources:
-> article de presse: Echanges commerciaux et l’APE: l’Afrique centrale joue son intégration, Le Potentiel, 15 septembre 2008-09-26

 

* Event: Guyana EPA Consultations, Georgetown
Date: 5 September 2008
-> Stakeholders' Consensus Statement, press release, published at normangirvan.info
-> Remarks by Shridath Ramphal, published at normangirvan.info

* Event: 58th meeting of the ACP-EC Committee of Ambassadors, Brussels
Date : 5 May 2008
Resources :
-> Outcomes of Proceedings, published by the Council of the European Union, 3 September 2008  EN  FR

 

 

 

* Event: Informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers, Bordeaux
Date: 29-30 September 2008
Resources:
-> webpage of the French EU Presidency EN  FR
-> Agenda EN  FR
-> Issues on the agenda of the meeting

 

* Event: EU-Central Africa technical and senior official negotiations, Brussels
Date: 29 September 2008 – 7 October 2008

 

*Event: 6th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government, Accra
Date: 2-3 October 2008
This meeting is preceded by a meeting of the ACP Council of Ministers and a Joint Meeting of ACP Council of Ministers and ACP Ministers of Foreign Affairs (30 September-1 October) in Accra . The EPAs and the future of the ACP group will be among the issues on the agenda.
Resources:
-> Webpage on the summit http://www.acpsummit-accra.org/. On this page, you can also sign up to the summit e-newsletter.

 

*Event:  EU-SADC technical and senior official negotiations, Brussels
Date : 6 – 10 October 2008

 

*Event: Hearing on the EPA between the EC and Cariforum, Committee on International Trade, European Parliament
Date: 7 October 2008
Resources:
-> Draft agenda
-> Draft report on Development impact of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), Rapporteur: Jürgen Schröder, 17 September 2008

 

* Event: EU-West Africa technical and senior official negotiations, Ouagadougou
Date: 20-24 October 2008

 

* Evénement : Le Forum économique des îles de l'Océan Indien, Moroni (Comores)
Date : 21 – 23 October 2008
This major yearly event is expected to welcome 200 participants from both the public and private sector. In the first meeting thirteen partnerships were concluded between companies and the “Union des Chambres de commerce et d’Industrie de l’Océan Indien” (UCCIOI) was created.
Resources:
-> To know more about this forum or subscribe to it before the 30th of September: http://www.uccia.km

 

* Event: EU-Central Africa technical and senior official negotiations.
Date: 27-1 November 2008