As Trade Ministers of East and Southern African countries meet in Mauritius this weekend to launch negotiations on a new regional trade agreement with the European Union, Kenyan civil society has expressed grave concerns about the impact on Kenyan farmers and enterprises. Negotiations for the so-called Economic Partnership Agreements will lead to new trade and investment arrangements with the EU, as mandated by the signing of the Cotonou Agreement in 2000. The Cotonou Agreement replaced the Lome Conventions which had granted ACP countries non-reciprocal, preferential access to EU markets in a series of agreements dating back to 1975. However, in 1994 the WTO ruled that Lome gave ACP countries an unfair advantage over other WTO members and was therefore against the rules. As a result of this WTO challenge, the Cotonou Agreement came into being, granting ACP countries a transition period of ten years to agree to reciprocal free trade arrangements with the EU - Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

Kenyan and international NGOs have warned that the EPAs will mean greater unrestricted access for EU goods and services, undermining the development of East African countries.

''Through the EPAs the EU is seeking an increased market access for their own goods and services into developing and least developed country markets. This will pose serious threats to already vulnerable local food production, food processing and infant manufacturing industries. EPAs are incompatible with the developmental needs of ACP countries. Farmers and enterprises in ACP countries are not ready to respond to full and rapid liberalisation, because of the developing nature of the economies in these countries", says John Ochola from Institute of Economic Affairs. Furthermore, through proposals to negotiate such issues as investment, competition, govern-ment procurement and trade facilitation, the EU seeks to introduce agreements to de-regulate the entry and operation of European investors and businesses in ACP economies. Such agreements have already been strongly resisted by ACP countries in the context of the WTO. "It is obvious that the EU is trying to push through issues in the EPAs that developing countries have resisted in the WTO. African countries' strong objection to the introduction of agreements on investment, competition and procurement was a major cause of the break-down of the WTO talks at Cancun. The position of African countries could not be more clear on this issue, yet the EU continues to shamelessly bulldoze their agenda through whatever routes they can find. There must be no commitments on any issues in the EPAs negotiations that go beyond what has been agreed in the WTO" says Karin Gregow from EcoNews Africa.
Kenyan civil society is particularly concerned because the negotiations will be undertaken between parties with a great imbalance in terms of political and economic power. Most ACP countries have a much weaker negotiating capacity than the EU. And given their dependence on EU aid, African countries will be subject to implicit threats and pressures, which will undermine their ability to stand by their negotiating positions. Civil society is also concerned that the EPAs will undermine the regional integration efforts already going on in the ACP region. Regional integration will be thrown off track by the divide and rule negotiating tactics of the EU.

For further information and full statement outlining the NGO concerns, please contact:

Karin Gregow, EcoNews Africa, 0722-565116 kgregow@econewsafrica.org or Gichinga Ndirangu, HBF, 0721-790164

NGOs behind the statement:

• EcoNews Africa,
• Institute of Economic Affairs,
• Trade Watch,
• Kenya Human Rights Commission,
• Consumer Information Network,
• RODI - Agriculture and Trade Policy Program,
• Oxfam GB,
• Heinrich Boell Foundation