ISDS Case Map
ACP
Asia, Caribbean, Pacific Group
A few days ago an influential political friend of the region asked about the current state of the negotiations between the Caribbean and the Europe for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
The European Commission is pressing West African governments to negotiate a deal on trade before a WTO waiver on current trade perks expires on December 31, but acknowledged on Thursday a short extension may be needed.
The recent trade concessions by the European Union to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries mean little in real terms, says an international non-governmental organisation.
Churches from Southern and Eastern Africa have called for a review of the proposed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
Advocacy groups in the country have recommended to the country's negotiating team in the new trade agreement with the European Union to opt for a more liberal trade pact known as the Generalised System of Preferences plus-scheme.
The European Commission has threatened 76 of the world's poorest countries with
lower access to the EU market if they fail to sign new trade deals known as Economic
Partnerhip Agreements (EPAs) by the end of 2007. But the threats are not justified.
There have been myriad commentaries on the ongoing negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The first thing in these debates is the jargon and how much a regular member of our communities would not understand. It's about time that those who know anything about trade and economic agreements explained this agreement to the rest in simple 'Wanjiku' language.
Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce President Christopher Lowe is calling on the Government to seriously consider signing on to the CARIFORUM-EPA -EU trade agreement, claiming that failure to do so could result in the loss of jobs for two major industries on Grand Bahama.
Barely two weeks after the European Union proposed to remove all remaining quota and tariff limitations on access to the EU market for all African, Caribbean and Pacific regions as part of the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations (EPAs), a group calling itself the Ghana Trade and Livelihoods Coalition has raised concerns about the ongoing negotiations that are scheduled to be concluded by December 31, 2007.
This South Centre policy brief examines the approach under the ongoing EPA negotiations with respect to innovation, biodiversity and traditional knowledge, public health, Least Developed Countries and on enforcement of intellectual property rights. It concludes that considering the level of economic development in ACP countries, the negotiations should not include IP rights as part of the partnership agreement.
