EU aims to settle trade dispute

JOHANNESBURG – The European Union (EU) reckons negotiations with South Africa among others for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) could be finalised by the end of the year, if there is “real political will” to settle the agreement.

The group in which South Africa falls - along with Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland (the BLNS countries), Angola and Mozambique as members – is expected to meet internally in mid-February before resuming official negotiations with the EU, a European Commission (EC) official said.
The original cut-off date for the signing of the final EPAs was the end of 2007.
Regional negotiations received a setback in 2009 when Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique signed an interim EPA against the wishes of South Africa.
Namibia, which decided to side with South Africa, runs the risk of losing its preferential market access to the EU, its largest market. Not supporting the interim EPA means Namibia at present does not have a formal trade agreement with the EU, and huge import tariffs should therefore legally be levied on its products like beef, grapes and fish.
The EC official said the commission had already met “several times” with Namibia to discuss this, but that the EU had not yet made a final decision. South Africa already has a separate trade agreement with the EU.
Jacob Nyambe, a senior researcher at the Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit, says it looks unlikely that the EU will start charging a levy on Namibian products this year.
Scores of non-government organisations are actively involved in putting pressure on the EU to ensure that the EPAs signed with all the old European colonies in Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean are not enforced on these developing countries, and that the countries’ interests are taken to heart.
“It’s not only Namibia that’s affected by this, but many other countries too. I don’t think the EU is likely to do anything this year,” he said.
Despite EU pressure, Namibia will not easily give way and sign the interim agreement, Nyambe said. The country is far too keen to stay in South Africa’s good books.
In December the BLNS countries asked South Africa to make more money available to them via the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) to finance their budgets for the 2010-11 financial year.
“Namibia has agreed with South Africa all along that the EPA is a threat to regional integration, and it will fight along with South Africa to make sure the countries that sign the agreement really benefit from it,” Nyambe said.
The major points at issue in the negotiations concern services, investments and state buying, as well as provisions made for “most favoured nations”. The EU wants them to enjoy the same trade benefits as those countries that have the most favoured agreement.
South Africa opposes this, and has also already indicated that it is not interested in an agreement about services, investments and state buying.
– Sake24.com

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