Notes to broadcasters on EPA protests:
Date Posted: October 6th, 2008
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) were at the top of the agenda when leaders from African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries met last week. As many of you know, the EPAs are a successor to the Lomé Convention – an aid and trade deal signed by 71 ACP countries and Europe in 1975. The Lomé Convention allowed ACP countries duty-free access to European markets, except for a select number of agricultural products, such as sugar and beef, which competed with European producers. But in 2000, the Cotonou Agreement established a framework for EPAs between the EU and individual countries, which were to take effect in 2008. EPAs would open ACP country markets to European products.
Many African civil society organizations have voiced major concerns about EPAs and the principle of free trade between Africa and Europe that EPAs promote. In December, the Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest and the government of Mauritania declared that they would not meet the December 31, 2007 deadline, but would negotiate with the European Union over the next 18 months for a “real instrument for growth and development.” Meanwhile, a number of eastern and southern African countries, as well as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, chose to sign interim EPAs, with special provisions to protect certain products from European competition.
You may wish to research the situation in your own country and broadcast area:
-Did your government sign an EPA agreement prior to the December 31 deadline? What position did your government take at the recent ACP summit?
-If your government has signed an agreement, which local products were given special protection and what does that protection entail? Which local products are vulnerable to European competition?
-If not, what are the repercussions for local producers who export to Europe? Does your government plan to negotiate a deal with Europe?
-What do farmers in your area know about EPAs, and what do they need to know?
-What are individual farmers and farmers’ associations doing to cope with the changing trade environment?
Two links that you might find interesting are:
-The European Union’s January 11 press release on the status of the EPAs (includes a list of countries that have signed EPAs and the provisions of these agreements): http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/15&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
-The video for Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi’s anti-EPA song, “On signe pas!”, which includes lyrics in French, English, and Wolof: http://www.awadimusic.com/
