EU to withdraw market access
The Observer | 07 February 2012
EU to withdraw market access
Written by Joseph Olanyo
The European Union is to withdraw its market access for countries that have not signed the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by 2014.
That means all countries in the East African Community (EAC) bloc and other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that have not signed up to EPA, a scheme to create a free trade area between the EU and African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries, will no longer have duty free and quota free market access to the giant market. Rocked by economic challenges in the Eurozone, trade analysts contend that the withdrawal of the market access is a reflection of the fatigue within the EU.
Alex Nakajjo, the Operations Officer at the EU Delegation in Uganda, says the EU is now focusing on its internal market. "There is less momentum in the EU side to continue with endless negotiations", Nakajjo said during a discussion on the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Doha Development Round and Multilateralism: Mapping out the future, which was organized by SEATINI Uganda in Kampala recently.
In 2007, Uganda and her EAC counterparts initialed the trade agreement. They were supposed to eventually sign the EPA. The signing has, however, been put off due to the lack of consensus on some pending issues like development cooperation where the EAC countries are asking for more funding.
The EU still largely finances the EAC’s operations in the ongoing EPA negotiations.
