International negotiations

Effects of Rules of Origin on the European Union - Africa Economic Partnership Agreements : summary of issues

Upphovsperson:	Rios-Herran, Roberto
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	European Union, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, international trade, Business and economics, Ekonomi

Rules of Origin (ROO) determine the economic nationality of an imported product. Where margins of trade preferences are higher, ROO tend to be very restrictive and even sometimes dilutes the benefits of such preferences. As the ACP-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations enter a critical phase, the devil of the agreement will be in the detail of the impending EPAs ROO. According to the original mandate, EPA is supposed to be concluded by December 2007 and should be development friendly. Yet, the recent EC ROO offer to the ACP countries (Commission Staff Working Document Concerning the Definition of “Originating Products and Methods of Administrative Cooperation”) are seen by commentators as completely undermining the development dimension of EPA. Bearing in mind the current EPA negotiations, Roberto Rios explains how ROO impact the pattern of trade between countries and how they can be development friendly.

The development dimension or disillusion : The EU's development policy goals and the Economic Partnership Agreements

Upphovsperson:	Stocchetti, Marikki
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	Partnership, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, international trade, Economic and social development, Sustainable development, Business and economics, Ekonomi

The EU and the ACP countries aim to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) by the end of December 2007. All parties agree that these trading arrangements are meant to be first and foremost “development instruments”. However, their positions differ greatly on how the EPAs will impact on theultimate goal of poverty reduction. In this policy note Marikki Stocchetti addresses the key issues of this disagreement.

EPAs and the post-Lisbon Implementation Status

Upphovspersoner:	Khumalo, Nkululeko | Mulleta, Fantu
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	international trade, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, Free trade areas, Partnership, Africa, European Union, ACP, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

The negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union (EU) were launched in 2000. The talks are carried out in terms of the Cotonou Agreement, which seeks to replace the non-reciprocal export preferences ACP countries have had with the European Community (EC) with reciprocal free trade arrangements. These negotiations have been carried out on a regional basis since January 2008 in order to align the parties’ trade regime with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Accordingly, a number of ACP countries initialled Interim Economic Partnership Agreement texts at the end of 2007. The IEPAs are a stopgap measure meant to prevent trade disruptions while negotiations on fully fledged EPAs continue. The second stage of negotiations, which will include services, investment, competition and government procurement, is expected to lead to the conclusion of fully fledged EPAs. This policy note seeks to provide a brief overview of the implementation status of the EPAs in selected African regions. The paper also looks at the impact of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreements (IEPAs) on the countries that initialled them and provides recommendations on how to ensure that the eventual full EPA agreements promote the interests of African countries.

Situating the EPA negotiations : Issues and unresolved debates in Africa-EU trade relations

Upphovsperson:	Goodison, Paul
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	international trade, International negotiations, Economic agreements, Trade agreements, Common markets, Structural adjustment, Sustainable development, Poverty alleviation, Africa, European Union, Business and economics, Ekonomi

For a long time it has been necessary to move beyond sterile debates for or against Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The real issue is: what kind of EPAs will support African governments in their efforts to promote the structural transformation of their economies, so that they can move beyond the production of simple and unprocessed products to the production of a range of higher value products, for national, regional and international markets, and in the process help them tackle poverty and employment issues. This paper seeks to situate the ongoing EPA negotiations and debate around contentious issues in the context of the wider European Union (EU) trade policy and African aspirations for sustainable development and poverty reduction.