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Overview of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and related

fisheries issues

European Commission

15 June 2005EU/ACP Economic Partnership Agreements – Seminar for the

Outermost Regions and the Overseas Countries and Territories

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Fish - an important product within ACP Fish - an important product within ACP exports to the EUexports to the EU

2003 EU imports from ACP countries by product groups

8,43

3,37

2,74

1,26

1,23

0,83

0,83

0,81

0,71

0,64

0,60

0,52

0,46

0,40

1,74

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

fuels

pearls, prec.stones, metals

cocoa

fish

ship, boat

wood

textiles

sugars

fruit, nuts

aircraft

aluminium

chemicals

ores,slag,ash

coffee

tobacco

Million €

Data source: EUROSTAT / COMEXT, regime 1

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ACP – the biggest exporter of fish to the EUACP – the biggest exporter of fish to the EU

2003 EU imports of unprocessed and processed fish in

valueACP

15%

Norway

15%

other

41%

China

3%

Iceland

6%

Morocco

5%Argentina

5%United States

4%

Russia

3% Faroe Isles

3%

Total value of imports of fish into the EU in 2003 = 11.5 bn €

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EPA- RegionsEPA- Regions

West Africa CEDEAO+ Mauritania

Central Africa CEMAC+STP

East South Africa ESA

Southern Africa "SADC group"

Caribbean Pacific

1 Benin Cameroon Burundi Angola Antigua, Barb Cook Is. 2 Burkina Faso Centr. Africa Comoros Botswana Bahamas Fed. Micron. 3 Cape Verde Chad Congo (Dem. Rep.) Lesotho Barbados Fiji 4 Gambia Congo Djibouti Mozambique Belize Kiribati 5 Ghana Equat. Guinea Eritrea Namibia Dominica Marshall Is. 6 Guinea Gabon Ethiopia Swaziland Dominican Rep. Nauru 7 Guinea Biss. S. Tome, Princ Kenya Tanzania Grenada Niue 8 Ivory Coast Malawi Guyana Palau 9 Liberia Mauritius Haiti Papua N. G.

10 Mali Madagascar Jamaica Samoa 11 Mauritania Rwanda St Lucia Solomon Is. 12 Niger Seychelles St Vincent Tonga 13 Nigeria Sudan St. Ch. & Nevis Tuvalu 14 Senegal Uganda Surinam Vanuatu 15 Sierra Leone Zambia Trinidad & Tobago 16 Togo Zimbabwe

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Fish exports from EPA regions to the EUFish exports from EPA regions to the EU

2003 Fish from EPA regions in value

ECOWAS+ Mauritania

38%

ESA32%

SADC group25%

CEMAC+ STP1%

Caribbean3% Pacific

1%

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Importance of fisheries products in ACP exportsImportance of fisheries products in ACP exports

Exports of fish from ACPs to EU were worth Exports of fish from ACPs to EU were worth

1,21 bn € 1,21 bn € for for unprocessed fish unprocessed fish and and

0,53 bn € 0,53 bn € forfor processed fish processed fish in 2003in 2003

This equals This equals 4.6%4.6% of all ACP exports to EU of all ACP exports to EU

Spread out by country as followsSpread out by country as follows::

Namibia, Senegal, TanzaniaNamibia, Senegal, Tanzania are the biggest ACP are the biggest ACP

countries exporting countries exporting non-processednon-processed fish to the EU fish to the EU

Seychelles, Ivory Coast, Ghana Seychelles, Ivory Coast, Ghana and and MauritiusMauritius are the are the

biggest ACP countries exporting biggest ACP countries exporting processedprocessed fish to the EU fish to the EU

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Preferential Trade relations with ACP countries

Fisheries products from ACP countries (raw and

processed) already enter into the EU duty and

quota free

MFN*MFN* general GSP**general GSP** ACPACP

Unprocessed Unprocessed FishFish

10.810.8 6.3%6.3% 0%0%

Processed FishProcessed Fish 24 %24 % 23.9%23.9% 0%0%

*average tariff weighted by ACP fisheries exports to the EU*average tariff weighted by ACP fisheries exports to the EU

**average tariff weighted by ACP fisheries exports to the EU and **average tariff weighted by ACP fisheries exports to the EU and

general GSP regimegeneral GSP regime

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WTO tariff liberalisation – What impact for the ACP?WTO tariff liberalisation – What impact for the ACP?

Positive: Positive: Improves access for ACP countries to new non-Improves access for ACP countries to new non-

traditional markets traditional markets

Negative: Negative: Erosion of value of ACP preferences on EU Erosion of value of ACP preferences on EU

market market

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Free Trade Agreement: Reciprocal market access South-south integration fostering the gradual integration of the ACP

countries into the global economy

Instrument for development

Integrated approach (Cotonou pillars) Trade policy as instrument for development (carefully

managed reciprocal liberalisation, services and trade-related areas – e.g. SPS)

Mainstream trade into development strategy (RPTF)

What are EPAs?What are EPAs?

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Economic Partnership Agreements and fisheriesEconomic Partnership Agreements and fisheries

Emphasis on competitiveness (to manage erosion Emphasis on competitiveness (to manage erosion

of preference) and improvements in overall trade of preference) and improvements in overall trade

performance performance

Accent on rules (Accent on rules (SPSSPS, non-tariff barriers), non-tariff barriers)

Duty-free access on fisheries products Duty-free access on fisheries products

maintainedmaintained: opportunity to look again at : opportunity to look again at rules of rules of

originorigin

Improve supply side capacity Improve supply side capacity

Develop regional markets and regional tradeDevelop regional markets and regional trade

(trade facilitation, customs, integrated markets) (trade facilitation, customs, integrated markets)

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Market access for fish and fishery productsMarket access for fish and fishery products

Maintain duty-free and quota-free access to EU Maintain duty-free and quota-free access to EU market for ACP products…market for ACP products…

… … But also look into the new opportunities ACP But also look into the new opportunities ACP markets might represent for EU’s fish exports – markets might represent for EU’s fish exports – with an emphasis on the neighbouring regions - with an emphasis on the neighbouring regions -

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Rules of origin Rules of origin

Rules of origin have been identified as an important Rules of origin have been identified as an important issue to be tackled in the EPA negotiationsissue to be tackled in the EPA negotiations

EU is currently reviewing preferential rules of origin EU is currently reviewing preferential rules of origin – including for fish and processed fish– including for fish and processed fish

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Sanitary standardsSanitary standards

EU’s SPS standards have been identified by ACP EU’s SPS standards have been identified by ACP countries as an important obstacle for their countries as an important obstacle for their exports to the EU. Only a small number of ACP exports to the EU. Only a small number of ACP states are currently allowed to export fish to the states are currently allowed to export fish to the EU.EU.

No levelling down of our standardsNo levelling down of our standards But assistance to help ACPs meeting the required But assistance to help ACPs meeting the required

standardsstandards

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Economic Partnership Agreements Economic Partnership Agreements and fisheries - Processand fisheries - Process

1.1. Ongoing EPA negotiationsOngoing EPA negotiations

2.2. Discussion with civil society and Discussion with civil society and

stakeholdersstakeholders

3.3. Sustainable Impact Assessments Sustainable Impact Assessments

of EPAs: http://www.sia-acp.org/of EPAs: http://www.sia-acp.org/

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Thank YouThank You