ISDS Case Map
EPAs
Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and ACP countries (under the Cotonou Agreement)
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.
"Here is a free trade agreement between rich and poor countries in which the former is trying to impose a reciprocal system of trade on the latter, with major consequences for poor people."
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.
Economic circles in eastern and southern Africa are abuzz with discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) which governments of these countries are negotiating with the European Union (EU).
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.
Botswana's Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced that the Minister, Neo Moroka, leaves for South Africa today for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) trade talks.
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.
