EU Defends Free Trade with Africa, Pacific Nations.
"From the EU side there will be a full removal of tariffs and quotas on ACP exports, with short transitions for sugar and rice." Peter Mandelson, EU Trade Representive
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA)are reciprocal deals allowing the free flow of goods and services between Europe and ACP countries, many of which fear the opening of their markets could cripple their fragile economies.
The 78 ACP countries currently enjoy special access to the EU market, but the World Trade Organisation has ruled that the deal must end by January 1, 2008 to pave the way for free markets.
Writing in The Guardian newspaper, Trade Commissioner Mandelson and Development Commissioner Louis Michel insisted that the EPAs were designed to "give greater confidence and more opportunities to local businesses, attract new investment
They also said that EPAs "won't mean 'free trade' between the EU and ACP countries from January 1 next year, or any time soon."
"EU companies and investment are not trying to muscle in on markets. The problem is that EU businesses and investors have too little interest in these regions, not that they have too much."
To read further, click the link below...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071031/ts_afp/eutradeacp_071031053652
Mandelsons Opinion Article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2201993,00.html
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List of all 79 APC Countries.
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
Congo (Brazzaville)
Cook Islands
Cote d'Ivoire
Cuba
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Grenada
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
Kenya
Kiribati
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Federated States of Micronesia
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Niger
Nigeria
NiuePalau
Papua New Guinea
Rwanda
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Uganda
