Economic partnership agreements
How economic partnership agreements benefit both consumers and producers in
Europe and developing countries
Properly managed trade can help development by:
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creating employment
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giving access to a wider range of good-quality products
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reducing average prices
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generating income
EPAs help create the right conditions for trade and investment. Together with development aid, that can deliver a
number of benefits for ACP countries:
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more markets, more sales – by opening the EU market fully to imports from ACP countries, strengthening and
boosting trade between ACP countries themselves
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better infrastructure, administration and public services – to increase and improve productive capacity, training
opportunities and knowledge transfer.
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more transparency / political and economic stability – political dialogue has become an integral part of the
ACP-EU relationship, aiming to uphold democratic standards, good governance and human rights.
In particular, whether you're exporting Ghanaian cocoa to the EU, growing bananas in Kenya, or buying flowers in
Marseille, EPAs are closer to your daily life than you might think. EPAs will have direct benefits for people in the Europe
and ACP countries.
Benefits for European Consumers
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lower prices – removing trade barriers produces healthy competition on the EU market and lower prices for
consumers
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more choice – exotic new produce from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP countries), and new varieties
of familiar goods like coffee, cocoa, mangos, pineapple etc.
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good quality and good value – tropical products grown in tropical climates
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jobs – in the long run, trade will help ACP countries become more prosperous. In turn, that will generate more
demand for European products and expertise, which will be good for employment.
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ethical choices – many thousands of small-scale, family-run businesses in ACP countries will benefit from
being able to sell their produce in the EU.
For farmers and manufacturers in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific:
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no quotas, no duties on exports to the EU – free access to the EU market of half a billion people for all ACP
products, providing plenty of scope for economies of scale
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access to a larger free market including EFTA countries – including Switzerland and Norway
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building regional markets – boosting trade between ACP neighbours and regions, with very significant potential
benefits for ACP exporters
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no undue competition – ACP countries will only gradually open their markets to EU imports, and producers of
the most sensitive 20% of goods will enjoy permanent protection from competition
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no shocks – EPAs will be implemented in a way that avoids unnecessary shocks. Duties will be phased out over
a period of 15 (and up to a maximum of) 25 years, with safeguards and support on offer for ACP countries
that encounter problems.
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coverage of services and foreign investment – EPAs don’t just deal with trade in goods but with issues relating
to development too – because trade is development.
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wider reforms – EPAs are part of the wider development agenda for ACP countries, to strengthen the law,
attract local and foreign investment and create the conditions for greater prosperity.
EPAs and the least developed countries
For more information on EU trade with developing countries, see Generalised Scheme of Preferences.
Many of the EU’s ACP trading partners already have duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market under the
"Everything but Arms" (EBA) scheme for the world’s least-developed countries (LDCs).
But EPAs have much more to offer:
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EPAs enhance trade – beyond free market access, EPAs come with less strict rules of origin, making it easier
for LDCs to export products with inputs from other countries (third-country inputs), especially in key export
sectors – agriculture, fisheries and textiles and clothing
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EPAs tackle co-operation on trade-related issues – EPAs provide an opportunity to address complex issues
affecting trade, such as copyright and the environment
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EPAs boost regional markets and rules – by tagging on to ACP regional integration initiatives, EPAs help
promote regional solutions, seen as good for development
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EPAs provide for a broader approach to trade barriers – the EPA approach recognises that tariffs and quotas
aren’t the only barriers to trade, and provides a way of addressing wider issues, e.g. poor infrastructure,
inefficient customs and border controls, or inadequate standards
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EPAs bring tailor-made approaches to regional needs – EPAs are worked out in regional negotiations to make
sure they take account of regional needs and each country's sensitivities and conditions
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EPAs safeguard local economies – though ACP countries that sign EPAs must gradually open up to 80% of
their markets to EU imports, safeguards ensure that EU products don't compete against locally produced
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products. So, trade disruption is avoided while local industries and consumers benefit from cheaper inputs and
consumer goods.
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EPAs respect national sovereignty – instead of imposing development strategies, EPAs ask countries to
determine their own development strategies and the pace and sequence of reform decisions.
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EPAs are stable partnerships between EU and ACP countries – EPAs establish viable contracts between equal
partners which can't be altered without mutual agreement. This is an important difference compared to EBA
(which is granted, and not negotiated, by the EU), favouring long-term planning and investment for
development.
EPAs: concrete results
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A logistics management company in Lesotho now only has a two-page export application form to fill in rather
than the old 23-page form, and the application is processed in 15 minutes rather than 7 days, thanks to the
new EU-financed Trade Investment Facility.
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Textile producers in Kenya now have access to the rich European market with nearly 500 million consumers –
with the added benefit of less strict Rules of Origin – under the EAC-EU interim EPA.
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If you raise cattle in Botswana, there is now no limit on the amount you can sell on the EU market. With the
SADC-EU interim EPA, beef quotas for Botswana are a thing of the past and EU assistance helped Botswana
meet the necessary sanitary requirements.
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Even Norwegians can enjoy Caribbean home-cooking – fresh produce and processed sauces and mixes now
have duty / quota free access to the European Economic Area (EU + EFTA).
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Pineapple exporters in Ghana can rest assured their business environment won’t be upset by any unilateral
decision. Greater predictability means they can safely invest more in processing and marketing their fruit.
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No worries for farmers in the Caribbean – 75% of EU agricultural products will still face import tariffs, and the
other 25% will not see duty-free competition start for another 10-25 years.
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Europeans can get coconut oil from Fiji without flying there in person – a trip to the local supermarket may be
enough. Pacific suppliers now have a duty/quota free access to the EU.
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If you’re a Ugandan producer using inputs from another ACP country, you no longer have to pay additional
duties when you export to the EU – thanks to the new Rules of Origin under the interim EPA.
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Fishermen in Papua New Guinea needn’t fear tough new competition from EU fish imports – tariffs will still be
applied under the interim EPA because fisheries are recognised as a sensitive industry and excluded from
liberalisation.
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One of Papua New Guinea’s exports to the EU, canned tuna, on the other hand will continue to enter the EU
duty and quota-free, with significantly more advantageous and simplified Rules of Origin to facilitate sourcing
the raw tuna for processing.
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Textile producers in Kenya and Tanzania can now source their raw materials from more efficient producers in
Asia under the EPA. The final products – clothes – will still enter the EU duty and quota-free.
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All ACPs that have signed an EPA can benefit from more flexible, simplified and advantageous rules of origin,
which allow them to use cheaper, better quality or more innovative inputs from other countries in their exports
and so move up the value-added ladder rather than exporting predominantly raw materials
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