Developing states seek elusive unity over EU trade
02 Oct 2008 11:09:33 GMT Source: Reuters
By David Lewis ACCRA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Developing states are seeking a common front over trade with Europe at a summit that opened on Thursday, but their unity has been undermined by some signing deals alone while others hold out for better terms. Gathered in Ghana for a summit overshadowed by the global financial crisis, leaders of the 79-nation African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) group are debating trade ties with the European Union (EU), which buys more than a quarter of all their exports. They are also due to discuss the high cost of food and energy and climate change affecting the lives of their 300 million people, some of them among the poorest on the planet. Worried about being excluded from Europe's market, a number of ACP members have heeded pressure from Brussels and initialled Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA). The first of these are meant to be concluded in two weeks time, on Oct. 15. But many developing world leaders and anti-poverty campaigners say these signings have weakened the ACP group's capacity to wrest better trade terms from the EU that would help protect their often vulnerable, commodity-exporting economies. "Further progress in the EPA process must be based on adequately addressing these legitimate concerns that would allow for all ACP states to become part of these agreements," reads a draft declaration from the Accra ACP meeting, seen by Reuters. While recognising the aim of EPAs to boost development through trade, critics say the ACP countries are being strongarmed by Brussels and could lose out in the long term. "If they lose their preferential access to the European market, it would have a major impact on ACP exports," said Deborah Scott, policy adviser for pan-African lobby-group ACORD. "On the other hand, if they sign EPAs, ACP countries will have to eliminate tariffs on almost all goods from Europe, leading to significant losses in government revenue and a serious threat to ACP industries and agricultural producers," she told Reuters. Charity group Oxfam International warned that the current deals being signed would strip ACP states of policy tools needed to protect their weaker economies and also risked fracturing regional integration due to mismatches in trade deals. DISUNITED ACP RISKS "LOSING RELEVANCE" ACORD's Scott said the Accra ACP meeting presented both an opportunity and a risk: "There is still space within this Summit for the ACP Heads of State to make a strong political decision to stand together as a political group." "If that does not happen, the ACP will likely lose significant relevance as a grouping; without a unified trade relationship with Europe, there will be little that they hold in common," she said. Guyana's Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said striking the right trade deal with the EU was a major issue for the ACP group. "I think we have to look at flexibility ... if we understand each other we can find solutions," she said. Guyana is the one country in the Caribbean that will not sign its EPA on Oct. 15. Rodrigues-Birkett said Guyana's concerns, which include clarification on the future role of existing regional trade groups and guarantees of new development money, as promised by the EPAs, must be met before there is an agreement with the EU. Ghanaian rice and tomato farmers marched in Accra this week to protest against the deals. But Ghana, along with Ivory Coast, initialled EPAs at the end of last year fearing they would lose valuable cocoa and coffee exports to the EU if they did not. Top African oil producer Nigeria, its economy buoyed by oil income, is among those holding out for a better deal. "As long as we don't have the answers, we will take a very strong position on this," said Mohammed Sansusi Daggash, a minister in the Nigerian presidency. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Editing by Pascal Fletcher)
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