EAC-EU EPA negotiations on course, says EAC top official / EAC-EC Experts inter-session meeting set for mid-November 2011 / Joint EAC-EC Technical and Senior Officials meeting for December 2011
ARUSHA, Tanzania, October 27, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Director General of the EAC Customs and Trade Directorate, Mr. Peter Kiguta has affirmed that Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations between the EAC and the European Union (EU) are on course.
“The question of EAC-EU EPA negotiations stalling or Partner States being bulldozed does not arise.
“We are on course and we expect to conclude the negotiations as programmed,” the Director General declared when responding to media queries today on the progress of the negotiations.
He disclosed that EAC EPA experts met in Nairobi in October and deliberated on various issues under negotiations.
“The EPA experts meeting was held pursuant to the 4th EPA Negotiations Session of the EAC-EC Permanent Secretaries/Senior Officials held on 15 September 2011 in Zanzibar in which both Parties agreed on a Joint Work Programme for the Comprehensive EPA Negotiations until December 2011,” said the Director General.
Mr. Kiguta said the EPA experts deliberated on the Rules of Origin, Agriculture, Economic and Development Cooperation, and Dispute Settlement, Institutional Arrangements in preparation for the EAC-EC Experts inter-session meeting to be held in mid-November 2011 and the Joint EAC-EC Technical and Senior Officials meeting to be held in the second week of December 2011.
In regard to the Rules of Origin (RoO), the Director General said the EAC EPA experts considered a revised Protocol on Rules of Origin (RoO) submitted by the European Commission (EC) and made proposals. In addition, the experts held consultations with the COMESA Secretariat with a view to discerning areas of harmonization on the EPA RoO. In doing so, the EAC were implementing the Council directive on harmonizing positions on EPA RoO with COMESA and SADC.
Mr. Kiguta further disclosed that the EPA experts consulted with the African Cotton and Textiles Industry Federation (ACTIF) on the industry position on the preferred RoO for the chapters on cotton and textiles, adding that “these consultations enabled the EPA experts refine their proposals on the Revised Protocol of Rules of Origin”.
On the issue of Agriculture, the EPA experts considered text on Agriculture with EC’s comments and developed a response on the same.
The Director General affirmed that the EAC EPA experts considered the EC comments on the text on Economic and Development Cooperation and prepared the EAC response on the same. In addition, the experts reviewed and updated the EAC EPA Development Matrix consisting of regional priority projects and programmes in areas such as Infrastructure (transport); Energy; ICT & Telecommunication; Agriculture; Trade Facilitation; and Water, Environment and Climate change and they also developed a consolidated budget for prioritized development support.
According to the EAC official, the EPA experts developed a draft EAC text on Dispute Settlement, Institutional Arrangements. In addition, the experts considered terms of reference for a study to develop EAC’s approach to Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development in the context of the EAC-EU EPA negotiations.
The EPA experts also verified a consolidated text putting together in one document all the negotiating texts and proposals under the EPA negotiations. This includes: the Framework Economic Partnership Agreement (FEPA) initialed in November 2007 with all the amendments; concluded texts on Customs and Trade Facilitation, Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
The Director General disclosed that the texts on Agriculture, Economic and Development Cooperation and Rules of Origin were expected to be included in the consolidated text as negotiations advance. The texts on Trade in Services and Trade-Related Issues will not form part of the consolidated EPA text as these will be negotiated at a later stage. The consolidated text will be the working document for the EPA negotiations.
Mr. Kiguta reiterated that the outcomes of the EPA experts meetings held in Nairobi will be submitted to the Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment for consideration and approval during its meeting scheduled for 31 October to 3 November 2011 in Arusha, Tanzania.
The EAC-EC experts inter-session meeting is scheduled to take place on 15 to 17 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda and will discuss Rules of Origin, Agriculture and Economic and Development Cooperation.
SOURCE
East African Community (EAC)
