REPA Booklet - Stop Epa

19
Learning from Others’ Experience
Why should the Pacific Islands be watching what is happening in Africa and the Caribbean?
There are at least 3 good reasons:
- It offers insights into the Commission’s approach and developments that are shaping its thinking;
- Lessons can be learnt (good and bad) from what other ACP regions are trying;
- Precedents may be established that will flow onto the Pacific negotiations.
“The EPA is set to
decisively undermine
Africa’s own
continent-wide
collaboration for
economic
development, and
with it the ability of
African countries to
reduce their
dependency on
Europe.”
(Tetteh Hormeku,
TWN-Africa, 2003)
Is there a good example to learn from?
Probably the most interesting example is Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA). That group is much more
complicated than the Pacific. 16 States are negotiating as part of the Eastern and Southern Africa Group, of
which 12 are Least Developed Countries and many are highly indebted poor countries. All are part of the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which is the largest economic grouping in Africa
and many consider has real potential to provide a solid economic base for the region. Six states belong to both
COMESA and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and have chosen to negotiate under the
Eastern and Southern Africa umbrella. However, 3 other COMESA members are negotiating as part of the
Southern African Development Community. Three further parties to the Eastern and Southern Africa negotiations
are also members of the East African Community (EAC). Whatever is decided in the Eastern and Southern
Africa negotiations will affect all those groupings and their other members – who are involved in their own
Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations – as well as shaping the direction of COMESA.
What is at stake for these countries?
As highly indebted countries they have suffered continual IMF structural adjustment programmes. These have
deepened their debt, increased poverty and left their social services in decay. The Economic Partnership
Agreement will entrench those neoliberal policies. Tariff cuts will also mean even less revenue, while debt
servicing demands continue to take priority on the dwindling public purse. There are also fears that opening
markets to European imports will endanger local businesses, jobs and food security, while European investors
pick over anything of value that the Europeans, US and South Africa don’t yet own.
What is the time frame for the Eastern and Southern Africa negotiations?
The ‘road map’ was launched in Mauritius in February 2004. They agreed to negotiate on 6 clusters: development
issues, market access, agriculture, fisheries, services and trade-related areas. The formal substantive negotiations
were to run from July 2004 to March 2005. They actually began in September 2004, leaving just seven months.
Each country was meant to set up a National Development and Trade Policy Forum, comprising government
and ‘non-State actors’, to formulate national positions. These would feed into a Regional Negotiating Forum
made up of 3 people from each country (government and NSA), the Brussels Ambassadors, secretariats of the
regional organisations, and a regional civil society group that specialises in trade negotiation issues.
Has the necessary preparatory work been done?
Reports from the third Regional Negotiating Forum meeting in October 2004 showed the ‘road map’ was
already behind schedule. The Secretariat said it hadn’t received any written reports from the national level
Development Trade Policy Forums, as required by the roadmap guidelines. Only 5 countries had completed
the Impact Assessment Studies that are meant to underpin negotiating decisions and they haven’t been made
public. Some countries are still waiting for funds from the European Commission to conduct their studies. A
number are also still seeking funding for the National Development Trade Policy Forums that are meant to
decide their positions. But the Commission is impatient so decisions on regional negotiating priorities are already
being taken.
Who is making the decisions for the Eastern and Southern African States?
That is a controversial question. There is a Regional Negotiating Forum of Brussels-based Ambassadors and
European Commission officials. There is also a Regional Preparatory Task Force of ‘experts’, which the
Commission insisted on, that is supposed to help the Negotiating Forum prepare for the meetings, including an
‘informal dialogue’. In practice, the Task Force appears to be determining the agenda. Because the Eastern and
Southern Africa Trade Ministers have agreed to the establishment of the Task Force, the Regional Negotiating
A People’s Guide To The Pacific’s Economic Partnership Agreement 39