Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are trade and development agreements negotiated between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and regions. Negotiated agreement, meetings, fact sheets, circular reports In some circumstances, trade negotiations have been concluded with a trading partner, but have not yet been signed or ratified. This means that the negotiations are over, but no part of the agreement is yet in force. The creation of a reciprocal trade agreement poses the EU the problem of how to reconcile the special status of the ACP group with the EU`s WTO obligations. The proposed solution to this dilemma is an agreement that is reciprocal only to the extent necessary to meet WTO criteria. In reality, the ACP countries will have some room for manoeuvre and will be able to maintain limited protection for their main products. The extent to which trade should be liberalised under the new EPAs remains widely debated and it remains to be seen whether the WTO provisions governing regional trade agreements will be revised at the end of the Doha Round in favour of the EPA system. Fact sheets, Vietnamese trade in your city, texts of agreements, export stories of EPAs with sub-Saharan Africa and other EU free trade agreements with North African countries are building blocks that contribute to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the long-term prospect of a free trade agreement from one continent to another. The EPAs already contain useful trade instruments for the construction of the AfCFTA. They provide a solid framework for regional trade and investment between the EPA partners themselves and with the EU. They also strengthen the trading capacity of the EU`s partners.
The negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, intended to replace the trade provisions of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (EPA), has sparked many (sometimes wild) claims about the likely effects on development. Until now, such arguments have been speculative because the final details of the agreements were unknown. But now, after the conclusion of a comprehensive EPA with the cariforum region and interim EPAs (EPAs) with some African and peaceful states, it is possible for the first time to analyse what has actually been agreed and assess the potential effects on development. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of African IEPS as they stand in early 2009. It also sets out the negotiations to be concluded and the implementation challenges facing Africa, some of which require Europe`s support. It provides both a summary of the main characteristics of the highly complex documents and the basis for the many follow-up studies that will be needed to further explore the specific characteristics of PEFs, country-specific, sectoral and otherwise. The EU is implementing seven Economic Partnership Agreements with 32 partners, including 14 in Africa. The main objective of epas is to use trade and investment for sustainable development. The content of the agenda will be broadened, with agreements covering new topics such as services and investment. The EU`s trade relations with ACP countries are governed by the Cotonou Partnership Agreement signed in 2000 between the EU, its Member States and acp countries.
Given that this comprehensive political, economic and development partnership expires in 2020, the parties are currently negotiating a successor agreement (the so-called “post-Cotonou” agreement). Due to the persistent incompatibility of previous agreements with the WTO, EPAs are primarily their reciprocity and non-discriminatory nature. . . .
