The European Union (EU) and the Ivory Coast have signed a 'stepping stone' Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the first of its kind between the EU and an African trade partner.
Amadou Koné, the Ivory Coast's Minister for African Integration and Karl Falkenberg, Deputy Director General for Trade at the European Commission, signed the deal in the Ivorian capital Abidjan.
The agreement combines the benefits of a trade agreement with development assistance targeted at accelerating growth and development in the African nation. The EU's final goal remains to conclude a full EPA with all the members of the West African region.
EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said: "Economic Partnership Agreements will allow developing countries to benefit from open trade, while protecting some of their key interests over a long period of time."
The stepping stone or 'interim' EPA gives the Ivory Coast duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market, with only an asymmetric and gradual opening of its own economy. The Ivory Coast has excluded a number of agricultural and manufactured goods from liberalisation, and will liberalise 81% of imports from the EU over a period of 15 years. It has immediately opened up trade in certain products not produced locally but used by consumers and local business, including pumps, generators, certain vehicles and chemicals.
Also included in the agreement is cooperation on more efficient customs procedures, as well as on fiscal adjustment to ensure that removal of tariffs does not destabilise the Ivory Coast's public finances.
Trade between the EU and West Africa is currently worth around EUR15bn. The EU's main exports are industrial goods and vehicles (80% of exports). West Africa's main exports are oil from Nigeria (50% of West African exports) and agricultural tropical products (cocoa, bananas, pineapples, and wood) mostly from the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
The EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries have been working to put in place new Economic Partnership Agreements that are compatible with World Trade Organisation rules. Such agreements aim at progressively removing barriers to trade and enhancing cooperation in all areas related to trade.
.
Network Tweets Archive
| Resources | Partners
| Site Map | Links
| Newsletter
Archive | Contact
| RSS Feeds
About | Syndication |
Advertising & Marketing |
Recruitment |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
All content provided by BSI Media
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment