Archived press release

EU condemned for forcing unfair trade on poor countries on International Stop EPAs day

27 September 2006

ActionAid International and Friends of the Earth urged the European Union to halt its anti-development trade agenda and stop current EPAs negotiations today - International Stop EPAs day (27 September).

The environment and development organisations accused the EU of pushing for damaging bilateral deals with some of the world's poorest countries, reviving some of the trade terms already rejected at the World Trade Organisation [1].

The European Commission is pushing for Economic Partnership Agreements, which will liberalise trade, investment, public procurement, and competition policy - opening up developing countries' markets.

Friends of the Earth Trade Campaigner Joe Zacune said:

"These trade deals are grossly unfair, forcing developing countries to throw open their markets. This will expose poor farmers to heavily subsidised European agricultural products and pit African infant industry against powerful European companies. The results will exacerbate poverty and cause lasting damage to their environment. Regulations designed to protect the environment in sensitive sectors such as oil, gas and mining will be undermined."

Although the European Commission claims to be pushing a development agenda in trade talks, the agencies warned that the main beneficiaries of the Economic Partnership Agreements currently being negotiated will be European corporations. An investment deal will deregulate and open up sensitive sectors in developing countries to foreign corporations. The rights of developing countries to regulate foreign investors would be stripped away.

Mariano Iossa ActionAid International's Trade Policy Advisor said:

"Europe is demanding a fast-paced liberalisation process ahead of a well-sequenced adjustments process. In addition, the EU's aid pledges for such adjustment so far are just repackaged existing funds. Without a new pro-poor mandate, communities in the South will be far better off rejecting these deals. Some EU member states, including the UK, have expressed serious concern but failed to change the negotiating mandate of the Commission."

The European Commission's recent Sustainability Impact Assessments of the EPAs on financial services sector in Central Africa stated that there has been a failure to demonstrate that liberalisation would improve proximity and lower costs of banking and insurance services for local people.

Opposition to these deals from ACP countries is increasing. Ambassador Joseph Ma'ahanua of the Solomon Islands reported to the trade committee of the Joint EU ACP Parliamentary Assembly two weeks ago that: "There are a few areas of convergences but more on divergences."

Friends of the Earth and ActionAid are members of the Trade Justice Movement that are calling on the UK Government and the EU to stop the current negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements and provide alternatives that work for poor people.

Note

[1] These so-called Singapore issues were rejected by developing countries at the WTO Ministerial in Cancun, Mexico in 2003

See our EPAs briefing for further information: Corporate conquest (PDF)

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust