Namibia: No EPA deal on Swakop issues
The Namibian | 2 July 2009
Namibia: No EPA Deal On Swakop Issues
Jo-MarÉ Duddy
THE European Union (EU) has not agreed to include trade concessions made at the Swakopmund negotiations in the interim economic partnership agreement (EPA), but intends to look at the rules of origin provisions to prevent the breakup of the Southern African Customs Unions (Sacu).
Trade and Industry Minister Hage Geingob yesterday told The Namibian that he wasn’t aware of any EU plans to put the agreed safeguards on infant industry protection, food security, export taxes and free flow of goods into writing.
Hopes to this extent flared up when reports of a meeting between South African Trade Minister Rob Davies and European Commission (EC) Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton, in which Davies referred to the EU revisiting the interim EPA, were broadcast locally yesterday.
Business Day yesterday reported that Ashton will review the rules of origin provisions in the interim EPA after Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique recently signed the controversial trade pact with the EU.
In reaction to the signature, Davies threatened to put up trade barriers to prevent cheap clothing from the EU entering South Africa through these countries. This would make the free flow of goods within Sacu more difficult, possibly precipitating the breakup of the world’s oldest customs union, Business Day said.
Namibia, South Africa and Angola, also part of the SADC-EPA configuration, still haven’t signed the interim EPA.
In his budget vote speech on Tuesday, Davies said South Africa remains concerned that the interim EPA signed between the EU and Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique could undermine regional integration.
"With at least five different agreements being concluded between different members of SADC and the EU, there is a real danger of trade deflection that will have to be addressed. As the full EPAs will require individual SADC members to take on obligations with the EU in new trade-related policy areas such as investment and services, before the region builds regional markets and rules in these areas, the EPA could impact on the future trajectory of integration," he said.
Davies also said that the interim EPAs now signed contains provisions that could hurt Sacu.
"Managing conflicting legal obligations towards the EU among members of the world’s oldest customs union could undermine the smooth functioning of Sacu in future," he said, calling on the EU to "refrain from implementing any provision in the interim EPAs that could strain Sacu".
The Minister furthermore said that in the light of the global crisis, the case for stronger South-South Trade and Co-operation is compelling.
"Brazil, Russia, India and China, the most dynamic emerging economies, are leading a structural shift in the global economy in which developing countries have been enjoying a rapidly growing share of world trade," he said, adding that South Africa will embark on a five-year programme to strengthen ties with these economies.
Besides the fear that the interim EPA will undermine regional integration, Namibia also shares South Africa’s enthusiasm about South-South Trade.
However, the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause in the interim EPA requires Namibia to extend the same benefits to the EU that it might offer any of these big economies as part of a trade deal, effectively hampering South-South Trade.
As such, the MFN remains one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the successful conclusion of the interim EPA.
