EU defends touchy trade agreements
Daily Monitor, Uganda
EU Defends Touchy Trade Agreements
Joseph Olanyo & Dorothy Nakaweesi, Kampala
27 March 2007
The Economic Partnership Agreements are not a threat but an opportunity to the member states of African, Caribbean and Pacific group, the EU trade envoy has said.
First Secretary and Head of the Economic, Trade and Regional integration Section at the EU in Uganda Tom Vens said there is a lot of willingness and determination to sign the agreement.
"There is much greater appetite now towards the EPAs," he said, during a one-day public dialogue on the EPAs in Kampala on March 23. The dialogue was organised by Uganda Programme for Trade Opportunities (UPTOP) in conjuniction with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda.
EPAs are economic partnership arrangements that are expected to replace the current trading regime between the two blocks-EU and ACP when it expires in December 31, 2007.
The EPA are expected to be World Trade Organisation (WTO) compatible, in that ACP countries including Uganda will be required to open up some of their markets to the EU products in line with international rules governing regional trade agreements.
The rules say that the liberalisation (removal of tariffs) undertaken should cover substantially all trade.
EPAs have raised controversy from stakeholders, researchers and civil society organisations saying Uganda and other ACP countries will lose out if the agreement is signed. Uganda has been pushing for an extension saying it is not ready.
Trade ministry officials argued that Uganda must find a suitable trade agreement replacement in time if the private sector is to keep hold of their main market.
Senior Commercial Officer Mr Emmanuel Mutahunga said the government should ensure predictability of the trade regime.
"It would be unfortunate if we failed to secure for our private sector a secure and predictable trading regime with their main export market," Mr Mutahunga said.
"To leave the private sector to continue guessing the trade regime they would face with in eth EU on a perpetual basis is not in the interest of the private sector"
The Executive Director PSFU Mr Gabriel Hatega urged the overnment to look for solutions to the sector’s major set back of supply side constraints.
"As we contribute to the negotiations, I call upon the private sector to ensure that the development assistance to be sought in the negotiations trickles down to solve our cross-cutting problems such as certification of exports and export infrastructure among many others," Mr Hatega said.
Officials of the Private Sector Foundation asked the ministry to ask for an extension.
