Summary
While a post-Brexit-road haulage crisis was foreseen, this initially focussed on cross border road haulage operations. However, a combination of Covid-19 linked economic downturn and movement restrictions, a ‘hostile’ post-Brexit UK immigration policy and UK tax reforms linked to the employment of independent HGV drivers, has served to create an acute shortage of drivers for both HGV vehicles and lighter vans. This is posing serious challenges to the continued smooth functioning of food supply chains. This raises important issues related to the distribution of the losses and additional costs arising from the current road haulage crisis. These issues need to be addressed within ACP supply contracts, with the inclusion of provisions which insulate ACP suppliers from the worst of the emerging losses and additional costs. On the basis of past commercial experience of burden sharing this may require policy interventions if ACP suppliers are not to bear the brunt of the new costs and losses. However, the policy framework for such interventions is weak. Read more “HGV Driver Crisis Raises Contractual Issues for ACP Fresh Produce Exporters”
Category: Uncategorized
UK Africa Investment Conference Aims to Boost UK Trade With Africa But What of Current African Exports to the UK?
Summary
While the UK government has launched a UK-Africa investment conference to showcase the financial services the City of London can offer in mobilising investment financing, it is neglecting a range of nuts and bolts trade issues in the agri-food sector which could profoundly impact on around €1 billion in African exports to the UK market. This includes sectors which in the past 20 years have attracted considerable investment in export orientated production and which have generated 100,000 of employment opportunities. These issues, notably in regard to the UK’s future MFN tariff regime and the administrative measures which need to be taken to ensure the continued smooth functioning of triangular supply chains, which serve the UK market via the Netherlands and Belgium need to be urgently addressed. Read more “UK Africa Investment Conference Aims to Boost UK Trade With Africa But What of Current African Exports to the UK?”
Calls for Vegetable Specific Sector Development Policies in Ghana
Summary
Calls have been made for the design and implementation of a dedicated policy for the development of vegetable production for local markets in Ghana. It is maintained general agricultural promotion programmes have not addressed the specific needs of the vegetable sector In terms of the trade aspects of such a policy framework. In this regard the Ghanaian government could potentially draw from the experience of Namibia, where a market share promotion scheme expanded local sourcing from 5% to 49% in 10 years. This was achieved despite the serious climate and agronomic constraints faced in Namibia. However this would require the establishment in Ghana of a strong institutional base for cooperation between the government and farmers’ organisations in order to ensure the appropriate and, transparent management of a supportive horticulture sector trade policy framework. Read more “Calls for Vegetable Specific Sector Development Policies in Ghana”
Ghanaian Government Lifts Restrictions on Specific Conforming Vegetable Exporters
Summary
After announcing a blanket ban on exports of leafy vegetables to the EU at the end of May to avert a possible EU import ban, the government of Ghana is gradually relaxing the ban as exporters and farmers prove compliance with export requirements. This is a slow process with the credibility of this approach hinging around being able to demonstrate that the current approach adopted by the Ghanaian PPRSD works in practice in enhancing the SPS compliance of Ghanaian exports of the products in question Read more “Ghanaian Government Lifts Restrictions on Specific Conforming Vegetable Exporters”
SADC EPA Group Initial Continuity Agreement with the UK
Summary
A rolled over EPA between the UK and the governments of South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Lesotho and Mozambique (SACU+M) was initialled on 10th September 2019. This preserves current tariff preferences for UK exporters and SACU+M exporters. While this is all that is required from a UK perspective and addresses the most immediate tariff concerns of SACU exporters it is unclear whether the concluded agreement addresses medium to long term issues of vital importance to the future value of the rolled over agreement. For SACU+M exporters these issues relate to: immediate trade administration challenges; the future of inherited quantitative restrictions on duty free-quota free access for certain South African exports; future UK only SPS import control requirements; the scope for rules of origin improvements when the UK has escaped current restrictions driven by EU27 interests; the future of the UK’s MFN tariff scheme, which is critical to the future value of rolled over tariff preferences. If these issues have not been addressed as an integral part of the initialled EPA, then additional declarations and commitments will need to be annexed if the UK’s new trade policy is to live up to the pro-development announcements which UK government representatives have been making. Read more “SADC EPA Group Initial Continuity Agreement with the UK”
Potential Implications for ACP Agro-Food Exporters of the State of Play in UK/EU27 Brexit Negotiations: August 2018
Summary
There remain substantive issues in the EU/UK Withdrawal Agreement which still need to be addressed. The most serious issue relates to the trade arrangement across the Irish border. While open to other viable solutions which the UK government may advance, the EU is insisting on a ‘back-stop’ arrangement which would ensure the same tariff and non-tariff regime in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in order to ensure the maintenance of a soft border. The UK government will not accept any arrangement it sees as compromising the integrity of the UK single market. Resolving this issue is intimately linked to the nature of the future EU27/UK trade arrangement. The EC has expressed major concerns about the UK’s proposals for future trade arrangements, particularly the UK’s proposals for a two tier tariff system with no EU rules of origin or fiscal controls on UK-EU trade. These issues could prevent the conclusion of a Withdrawal Agreement. This would then carry important consequences for ACP agro-food exporters. ACP governments and private sector operators need to start preparing for a ‘hard’ Brexit, while maintaining a close eye on the progress of the EU27/UK negotiations.
If the current Withdrawal Agreement were agreed and legally adopted this would defer any adverse effects on ACP agro-food exporters and could provide time for the negotiation of EU27/UK and trilateral arrangements which would reduce the negative effects of Brexit on ACP agro-food sectors. Read more “Potential Implications for ACP Agro-Food Exporters of the State of Play in UK/EU27 Brexit Negotiations: August 2018”
ANNOUNCEMENT
During the Summer vacation only one article per week will be posted, with these dealing exclusively with the implications for ACP agro-food sectors of developments in the Brexit process, negotiations on which are scheduled to continue throughout the summer. Read more “ANNOUNCEMENT”
Brexit and the WTO Complications
On 22 February 2018 ACT Alliance convened Seminar on the Implications of Brexit in the agro-food sector for ACP countries and for the forthcoming ACP-EU Post-Cotonou negotiations. A series of twelve 2 page summary notes were produced for the seminar covering both substantive issues arising within the Brexit process and the current state of play in the Brexit process. Note 11 explores the WTO complication arising from the Brexit process with reference to the expectations of other WTO members as to how the EU will treat the UK once it is a 3rd country and how the EU’s current preferential trade partners should treat the UK once the UK is no longer a member of the EU and is just another 3rd country trade partner. Read more “Brexit and the WTO Complications”
Agro-Food Sector Effects of the Application of MFN Duties on EU27-UK Trade: An Area of Potential ACP Concern and Opportunity
Summary
If MFN duties are introduced on EU27-UK trade as a result of a failure to reach a new trade agreement this could disrupt existing ACP supply chains. However such a development could also present opportunities for ACP countries to expand their direct exports of value added products to the UK in sectors such as the cocoa sector. Marketing adjustment and investment support however could be needed to enable ACP exporters to respond positively to the challenges which lie ahead. Read more “Agro-Food Sector Effects of the Application of MFN Duties on EU27-UK Trade: An Area of Potential ACP Concern and Opportunity”