| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.11, No.2, 20.1.05 |
| Publication Date | 20/01/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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By David Cronin Date: 20/01/05 Peter Mandelson will today (20 January) promise to introduce measures to assess whether trade pacts with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries succeed in reducing poverty. The European commissioner for trade is to make the pledge when he addresses anti-poverty advocates, some of whom have delivered strong criticisms of the regional economic partnership agreements (EPAs) being negotiated with the ACP bloc. These accords are to replace the trade provisions of the Cotonou Agreement on EU-ACP relations after it expires in 2007. Mandelson is to promise that he will take on board concerns raised by relief agencies. In a new report, ActionAid contends that the EPAs replicate the "indiscriminate trade liberalisation and market deregulation" model "forced upon many developing countries" by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in the 1970s and 1980s. ActionAid contends that the consequences of that model were "disastrous" - in Africa, the number of people living on less than a dollar a day rose from 217 million in 1987 to 291 million in 2000. "EPAs need to change so as their development focus is strengthened," Mandelson will say. "EPAs are potentially a crucial, hugely positive contribution that Europe can and must make to trade and development." But the commissioner is not expected to accept demands that investment, government procurement and competition policy be excluded from the EPA talks. Poor countries rejected talks on these so-called Singapore issues at the 2003 World Trade Organization ministerial in Cancún, fearing that they would be required to open up their markets indiscriminately to major European corporations. A Commission paper says that creating "transparent and predictable rules" on these issues "is going to be the key to attract more local and foreign investment in the ACP". Tom Sharman of ActionAid called on the Commission to consider alternative measures to EPAs such as extending the 'Everything But Arms' scheme to all 77 members of the ACP bloc. At present, only those classified as 'least developed countries' can benefit from this scheme, granting their products duty-free access to the Union's markets. The ActionAid study predicts that trade liberalisation could hurt producers in countries like Ghana and Kenya, where agriculture accounts for 39% and 25% of gross domestic product. Peter Mandelson, European Commissioner for Trade, on 20 January 2005 promised to introduce measures to assess whether trade pacts with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries succeeded in reducing poverty. Article anticipates a speech by the Commissioner to anti-poverty advocates, some of whom have delivered strong criticisms of the regional economic partnership agreements (EPAs) being negotiated with the ACP bloc. These accords were to replace the trade provisions of the Cotonou Agreement on EU-ACP relations after it expires in 2007. Mandelson was to promise that he would take on board concerns raised by relief agencies. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
