Category: Regions

March 2018 AU Position on Future Negotiations with EU Sparks Controversy

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Summary

The recently adopted African Union (AU) Executive Council decision to recommend the new agreement with the EU ‘should be separated from the ACP context’ is in contradictions to established common ACP positions, which in line with the recent CARIFORUM statement had emphasises the importance of building on the acquis by negotiating with the EU at the all-ACP level. By abandoning substantive negotiations at the pan-ACP level (the only level at which the EC is obliged to conclude an agreement by March 2020) the AU position risks weakening the position of regional negotiators on issues where there are tensions in the ACP-EU relationship. This includes a range of agro-food sector trade issue which in the context of evolving trends could come to take on growing significance fort African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, most notably in regard to the wider policy framework within which the EU seeks the implementation of EPA commitments.  This could carry particularly important implications for African structural economic transformation objectives in the agro-food sector. Read more “March 2018 AU Position on Future Negotiations with EU Sparks Controversy”

EC Asserts EUs TRQ approach to Mercosur Beef Access Request Protects Sensitive Sectors

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Summary

The debate on the EU’s TRQ offer for beef in the EU-Mercusor negotiations throws into sharp relief the double standards which the EU applies to the use of quantitative restrictions on trade in sensitive agricultural products. While routinely using such tools to protect EU producers in trade arrangements with competitive agricultural exporters, the EU insists on a prohibition on the use of quantitative restriction on imports from the EU under trade arrangements with ACP countries.  This is despite the EU often being the major source of agricultural imports in sensitive sectors in EPA signatory countries.

It also raises the potentially important issue of the effects of Brexit in the beef sector both in terms of the threat to the functioning of national and regional beef markets in the ACP (particularly in Africa) and the future value of preferential access to EU27 markets in the post-Brexit context. This will require ACP beef exporters to the EU to pay close attention to the prospects for a ‘hard’ Brexit in the meat sector as EU27/UK negotiation progress throughout the course of 2018. Read more “EC Asserts EUs TRQ approach to Mercosur Beef Access Request Protects Sensitive Sectors”

European Civil Society Organisations call for EC Action on UTPs Along All Agricultural Supply Chains

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Summary

In a letter to EC President Juncker European civil society bodies have come out publicly in favour of extending proposed EU regulations on UTPs to supply chains including those sourcing from beyond the EU’s borders. The ACP Group and individual ACP governments with an interest in those supply chains which are most seriously affected could usefully support this initiative, so as to have an EU regulatory framework in place which can be developed in the context of the post-Cotonou negotiations to operationalise the application of these principles along ACP-EU supply chains – from farm to fork. Read more “European Civil Society Organisations call for EC Action on UTPs Along All Agricultural Supply Chains”

EU Poultry Meat Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa Down Only Marginally in 2017 Despite South African AI Based Import Restrictions

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Summary
EU exporters have been remarkably successful in finding alternative African destinations for exports of poultry parts impacted by South African AI related import restrictions. In the context of the potential for ‘hard’ Brexit related disruptions of the EU27/UK mutual trade in poultry meat the mobility of EU28 poultry meat exporters would appear to raise concerns. This mutual EU27/UK trade currently amounts to around 830,000 tonnes per annum, with analysts suggesting fully 90% of this trade could be halted under a ‘hard’ Brexit scenario. This could lead to a sudden surge in both UK and EU27 poultry meat exports targeting African ACP markets as early as 2021. Concerns also arise over the possible inclusion of Ukrainian derived poultry meat in exports of ‘EU’ poultry meat to African destinations, in violation of the rules or origin requirements of EU trade agreements. Read more “EU Poultry Meat Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa Down Only Marginally in 2017 Despite South African AI Based Import Restrictions”

The Potential Differential Effects of Stricter EU False Coddling Moth Controls on African Exports

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Summary
Controlling false coddling moth infestations in the face of stricter EU controls will be a major challenge for African fruit and vegetable exporters, with different countries having very different systems in place for controlling infestations in exported product. South Africa’s sophisticated ‘electronic compliance database’ Phytclean could potentially hold important lessons as national SPS authorities across the Africa seek to get to grips with stricter EU controls. This is potentially an important area for pan-African technical cooperation which would supplement existing EU support programmes to strengthen SPS control capacities implemented through such programmes as COLEACP. Read more “The Potential Differential Effects of Stricter EU False Coddling Moth Controls on African Exports”

Brexit Implications for ACP EU Post Cotonou Negotiation in the Agro-food Sector

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The 22 February 2018 ACT Alliance convened a seminar on the Implications of Brexit in the agro-food sector for ACP countries, included an afternoon session on the implications of Brexit for the forthcoming ACP-EU Post-Cotonou negotiations and the possible ramifications for ACP agro-food sectors. This note summarises the main points made in the initial presentation during this session. It is not an exploration of all the issues arising in the context of these forthcoming negotiations but rather provides an introduction to some of the most salient aspects of the impact of the Brexit process on the post-Cotonou negotiations as this impinges on the agro-food sector relationship. It looked at these salient aspects with reference to 3 specific dimensions: trade relations, development cooperation and political relations and seeks to selectively review the implications for different ACP regions. Read more “Brexit Implications for ACP EU Post Cotonou Negotiation in the Agro-food Sector”

Brexit and the Disruption of Triangular Supply Chains

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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 7 explores the potential of the Brexit process to disrupt the functioning of triangular supply chains which serve the UK market via an initial port of landing in an EU27 member state or EU27 markets via a port of landing in the UK. Read more “Brexit and the Disruption of Triangular Supply Chains”

Impact of Brexit on the Functioning of EU27 Markets: The Case of Sugar and Bananas

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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 6 explores the impact of Brexit on the functioning of EU27 markets with specific reference to the sugar and banana sectors given the extent if EU bilaterally agreed TRQ arrangements and the scale of UK import demand within the overall EU28 market equation. Read more “Impact of Brexit on the Functioning of EU27 Markets: The Case of Sugar and Bananas”

The Trade Displacement Effects of Brexit: Lessons from the Poultry Sector

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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 7 explores the potential trade displacement effects of Brexit, whereby current mutual EU27/UK trade in agro-food products is displaced to ACP markets.  This issue is explored with specific reference to the poultry meat sector, in the light of the earlier African experience of trade displacement in the poultry meat sector arising from the imposition of a ban by Russia on agro-food imports from the EU. Read more “The Trade Displacement Effects of Brexit: Lessons from the Poultry Sector”

State of Play in EU EPA Implementation Update January 2018

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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 4 provides a summary overview of the state of play in regard to the negotiation and implementation of ACP-EU economic partnership agreements based on the EC’s posted summaries and additional information. Read more “State of Play in EU EPA Implementation Update January 2018”