Accra, Dec. 12, GNA - The European Commission has hailed Ghana's decision to sign the interim Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union in the next few days.

Mr. Filliberto Ceriani Sebregondi, Head of European Union Delegation in Ghana, said the interim deal which the country was close to signing would ensure that no disruption to trade occurred, come January 2008. West Africa Trade Negotiators at a meeting in Abidjan had asked for extension of the World Trade Organization's waiver but the EU is unwilling to accede to the request.

Instead, the EU has proposed a two stage approach to the EPAs; that is concluding an agreement in the area of market access, while negotiations on services and other trade related issues such as government procurement continue till 2008. The EU is seeking under the EPAs the opening up of the markets of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries duty and quota free for goods from Europe in exchange for the same treatment to products from the ACP countries.

The EPAs would replace the current Cotonou Agreement under which the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries had enjoyed a non-reciprocal preferential treatment to the EU market.

Speaking at the Ghanaian German Economic Association forum on the EPAs, Mr. Sebregondi said the EU could not continue with the current trade regime because it was incompatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that demanded equal treatment for all member countries. He said, although the country could lose some revenue when import duties on EU goods were removed, the phase liberalization would ensure that the impact was minimal. Besides, he said, the EU was putting in place a fund to compensate for such revenue losses.

The EU further argued that the EPAs would push forward the regional integration agenda by ensuring that countries rationalized and harmonized their regional trade arrangements and in the process, strengthen the integration process and the economies. Mr. Lawrence Sae-Brawusi, Trade Specialist at the Ministry of Trade, said the offer of a mere market access was not enough for ACP countries to benefit from the EPAs.

He said, there was the urgent need to deal with the supply-side constraints that had made it difficult for the countries to meet the stringent demands in the EU market.

Mr. Sae-Brawusi, therefore, called for a long transitional period to enable the countries to build competitive export capacities. On product cover, he said, all subsidized products from the EU should be excluded from the list of imports to ACP countries. There must be credible dispute settlement and review clauses to ensure that sensitive products for the countries could be changed in line with developments in the global market place. 12 Dec. 07