Namibia could miss out on EU trade

THE expiry of a preferential agreement between Namibia and the European Union on exports of beef, mutton, fish and table grapes could cause Namibia to lose millions of dollars, unless an interim solution can be found, an expert said yesterday.

Professor Gerhard Erasmus of the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (Tralac) in South Africa told a meeting of the Agricultural Trade Forum (ATF) that Namibia’s stakeholders had to speedily work out a strategy how to secure those exports after December 31, when the agreement will expire for all ACP countries. Namibia is among the 77 countries from Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) that could negotiate preferential export tariffs to EU countries some years ago.”Any new agreements must be compliant with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from 2008 onwards,” Erasmus told the gathering.”The best way to go is to ask for a transition agreement until issues are resolved with the WTO, since there is not much time left.”Namibia is also a member state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and a member of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).These different bodies are also in trade negotiations with the EU for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).”SADC submitted a proposal to the EU last year and is still waiting for a response,” Erasmus said.According to Juergen Hoffmann of the ATF, the annual beef exports to EU countries came to N$300 million per annum.Namibia has an export quota of 13 000 tonnes for beef.Exports of fish products come to approximately N$2,5 billion.Hoffmann said, one solution could be to negotiate for a new agreement or to obtain a temporary waiver until talks have been completed.”Another possibility could be to obtain least developed status and be allowed tariff-free access.”The president of the Namibia Agricultural Union, Raimar von Hase, expressed concern about the limited time available for familiarisation with the complex issues regarding Namibia’s various memberships in regional organisations and the looming termination of the existing EU agreement.Namibia is among the 77 countries from Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) that could negotiate preferential export tariffs to EU countries some years ago.”Any new agreements must be compliant with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from 2008 onwards,” Erasmus told the gathering.”The best way to go is to ask for a transition agreement until issues are resolved with the WTO, since there is not much time left.”Namibia is also a member state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and a member of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).These different bodies are also in trade negotiations with the EU for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).”SADC submitted a proposal to the EU last year and is still waiting for a response,” Erasmus said.According to Juergen Hoffmann of the ATF, the annual beef exports to EU countries came to N$300 million per annum.Namibia has an export quota of 13 000 tonnes for beef.Exports of fish products come to approximately N$2,5 billion.Hoffmann said, one solution could be to negotiate for a new agreement or to obtain a temporary waiver until talks have been completed.”Another possibility could be to obtain least developed status and be allowed tariff-free access.”The president of the Namibia Agricultural Union, Raimar von Hase, expressed concern about the limited time available for familiarisation with the complex issues regarding Namibia’s various memberships in regional organisations and the looming termination of the existing EU agreement.