ESA, EU Near Trade Deal

Jun 02, 2008 (Zimbabwe Standard/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- -- MEMBERS of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) bloc and the European Union (EU) meet in Brussels later this month for two crucial meetings as they inch towards a comprehensive trade deal under World Trade Organisation rules.

ESA and EU officials meet for the second technical meeting inside two months, from 24-25 June, followed by a senior officials' meeting on 26 June.

Last month ESA and EU officials met in Lusaka, Zambia, where ESA presented the various trade provisions it wants discussed in the framework of the full Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs).

Discussions were on the rendezvous clause of the interim agreement such as services, investments, trade-related issues (intellectual property right, competition rules, transparency in public procurement and sustainable development, trade and environment).

More technical issues such as sanitary requirements and technical barriers to trade or trade facilitation and customs are mostly agreed and should not be subject to further discussions, Standardbusiness heard last week.

But there are outstanding issues such as the Most Favoured Nation clause, rules of origin, flexibility and export taxes. Parties at the Lusaka technical meeting showed openness to discuss these issues in the framework of the full EPAs.

African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries used to enjoy unilateral trade preferences with the EU for almost three decades under the Lome Conventions.

The Fourth Lome Convention was replaced by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement in 2000, which extended these unilateral trade preferences up to the end of 2007.

But because most African countries were unable to conclude comprehensive EPAs they opted for interim agreements in order to avoid trade disruption that could result from failure to conclude WTO compatible arrangements by the deadline of 31 December, 2007.

Negotiations are being held on a regional basis. Zimbabwe is negotiating under the ESA bloc.

To date the EU has concluded EPA talks with the Caribbean group while in Africa it has finished interim EPAs with regional blocs and individual member countries.

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