UK calls for new trade agreements that work for the poor, not against them
26 September 2007
Related pages: Millennium Development Goal 8:
Trade |
Fighting poverty through trade
Last weekend, Trade and Development Minister Gareth Thomas travelled to an EU
Development Meeting in Madeira to make the case that new trade deals - 'Economic
Partnership Agreements' - between the EU and the 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific
(ACP) countries can be achieved by the end of the year, if all the countries
involved focus on
what is necessary and leave other issues off the negotiating table until later.
These new arrangements need to work for the poor and promote development by
making trade with EU markets freer and less expensive.
Making trading easier
Current trading rules expire at the end of the year and need to be replaced.
Gareth Thomas warned that the current default arrangement being discussed (known
as
 Generalised
System of Preferences, or GSP) would not bring equal benefits and therefore
was not good enough. He wrote directly to EU Trade Ministers on these points
ahead of the meeting.
At the meeting, Gareth Thomas:
- Proposed that agreement outlines could be achieved by the end of the
year if discussions focused on goods only and left aside other issues
till later. This would eliminate the need for any extension of the
World Trade Organisation's existing waiver on trade rules, which allows
preferential trading between the EU and ACPs. The outline would include
the EU’s offer on market access to goods from ACP countries, and
most of what the ACP countries will do to reduce tariffs on goods. This
would allow for further issues to be finalised in 2008, if ACP regions
so wish.
- Called for less constraining export rules to make it easier and more
financially rewarding for ACP countries to export their products to the
EU. Complicated
Rules
of Origin mean that the geographical origin of every part of a
product is considered in calculating the tariff due. If a poor country
sources a part from a richer country, the poor country may have to pay
higher tariffs as a result.
- Urged that ACPs are made no worse off after the end of 2007. They
would be worse off if arrangements currently being discussed (GSP or a
special incentive scheme for sustainable development and good governance
known as GSP plus) replace existing trade rules.
- Welcomed the European Commission’s market access offer to the ACP
countries, which means they will not have to pay duties or face quotas
on goods entering the EU market.
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Time to focus on essentials
Gareth Thomas said:
"African, Caribbean and Pacific countries need to benefit from - not be worse
off with - new trade agreements which improve their access to EU markets and
reduce constraining export rules. But the alternatives being considered (GSP or
GSP plus) would put countries in a worse position.
"If countries focus on what is necessary and put aside other issues, outline
agreements can be achieved by year end. I pressed the European Commission on
this at the Development Ministers meeting last weekend."
Read the Minister's statement on EPAs here.
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