Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (second left), EU Council
president Herman Van Rompuy (third left), European Commission president
Jose Manuel Barroso (fourth left), UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon
(centre left), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) and other leaders
during the Fourth EU-Africa summit at the European Union headquarters
in Brussels on April 2, 2014. AFP
By Reuters
In Summary
- The world’s poorest countries, 33 of which are African, have until October 2014 to sign EPAs with the EU which include provisions for tariff-free trade. Otherwise the EU will begin to impose tariffs on goods from those countries.
- Only four African countries have ratified this agreement. African governments are nervous about the consequences of opening up their markets to EU goods and have been delaying any decision for as long as possible.
- EU has opened up its markets for development policy reasons, it wants African nations to open up their markets to EU goods. This would give European firms an edge over competitors from elsewhere.
European Union and African leaders from 80
states met in Brussels for a two-day summit as a deadline for
tariff-free trade agreements drew near.
There was talk of boycott by some invited African leaders after Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Jacob Zuma of South Africa said they would not attend.
European diplomats, however, maintained that there was more to the fourth EU-Africa summit than just attendance and appearances.
The summit’s official theme ‘Investing in people,
prosperity and peace’ offered a broad scope for speeches and discussions
on various subjects but the delegates found the going more unpalatable
when addressing the signing of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA)
between the EU and African countries.
“Since the Doha round in the year 2000, the EU has
had an offer on the table — approved by the World Trade Organisation —
which would give the world’s poorest countries, 33 of which are African,
tariff-free access to Europe’s markets,” said Francisco Mari,
specialist in trade, agriculture and fisheries at the German development
aid organisation Bread for the World.
This would include all countries in which per
capita income is less than $500 (Sh43,215) a year. In return, those
countries are required to open up their markets to goods from the EU.
The deadline for the deal set by the EU is October
2014. The world’s poorest countries have until that date to sign EPAs
with the EU which include provisions for tariff-free trade. Otherwise
the EU will begin to impose tariffs on goods from those countries.
So far only four African countries have ratified
this agreement. African governments are nervous about the consequences
of opening up their markets to EU goods and have been delaying any
decision for as long as possible.
“Politically they really need to push EPAs
centre-stage,” said Jack Mangala, professor of political science and
Africa studies at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, US. “The
African heads of state need to be aware of the political consequences of
not signing these agreements before the October deadline,” he said.
A new market for Europe’s service industries?
Now that the EU has opened up its markets for
development policy reasons, it wants African nations to open up their
markets to EU goods. This would give European firms an edge over
competitors from elsewhere.
“The Europeans obviously want to sell their plant
and machinery and spare parts to Africa. And there would be no tariffs,
so they would be a better position than the Americans or the Chinese who
would face such levies,” said Mari.
The EU does not want just a free trade zone for
goods with Africa, but also for service industries as well such as
banks, insurance companies or consultancies.
If tenders were to be invited for the building of a
hospital, for example, then companies from all over the EU would be
able to bid for the contract. African companies would find it difficult
to compete with them.
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