Advantage Europe, Divided We Fall

A review of the article titled ‘The EU, Economic Partnership Agreements and Africa’ by Sir Ronald Sanders

Sanders (2015) article titled “The EU, Economic Partnership Agreements and Africa” is a call for Africa to think twice when it comes to this trade agreement called Economic Partnership Agreement(EPA) with the European Union(EU) as we have often been reminded that not all that glitters is gold. Sanders declares in his main argument that the ‘EPAs are unfair’ and goes ahead to explain how this unequal relationship is detrimental to the interests and future trade prospects of the African states made worse by the fact that European states negotiate as a single entity while their partners have to do it individually as a country.

Sanders asserts that there is credible projection that Africa could be the next leading source of global economic growth hence the reasoning behind ‘Agenda 2063’ as a vison of the African Union. With this, the continent should not think lightly of her collective bargaining strength neither undermine it. The unfairness is not only in the individuality of African negotiations but also includes the dispute resolution mechanism which leaves African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries with meagre resources going singly against the European Union whose 28 countries have a combined GDP of over $18 trillion.

According to the author, what makes this relationship even more absurd is its demand for reciprocity, arguing that it is unjust to have a heavyweight in this case the EU and a featherweight that is individual African nations in the same boxing ring then claim you have staged a contest of equals!  Fairness can only be achieved if preferential treatment is awarded to developing countries by their rich counterparts without giving with one hand while taking with another.

The article bemoans the amount of pressure that was put on poor African countries to sign the EPAs. Due to lack of progress, the EU unilaterally withdrew market access in October 2014 that left many African nations vulnerable. The fear of losing jobs and foreign exchange because imposing high tariffs would make their products uncompetitive meant that the Africans were negotiating with a sword over their heads.  Yet a loss of revenue resulting from reduced tariffs on European imports, swamping of African markets with foreign goods and non-tariff barriers like subsidies when accessing European markets does not make things any better.

In a closing argument, Sanders warns against the danger of the EPAs complicating trade negotiations with other parts of the world as well as the implementation of our own Continental Free Trade Agreement. Therefore, in concurrence with Professor Soludo, he calls for unified African policies that put more weight on her own development and not the development of Europe.

Facing a Complicated World 

It is nearly impossible to disagree with Sanders that without uniting as a group, the African continent loses considerable leverage in negotiating with powerful blocs such as the EU on any issue. Unfortunately, and as the article can attest, it is a complicated world especially for Africans where you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If you can be denied market access as a group, uniting may not necessarily take away that vulnerability.

The good news is that some scholars like Nyomakwa-Obimpeh (2017) have questioned the narrative that EU’s structural and economic advantage over ACP countries gives her enormous leverage to drive negotiations as they wish. This is because ten years after the initially set deadline, negotiations remained inconclusive forcing the EU to opt for bilateral EPAs. It should not take that long and be that difficult if you have very strong influence and capabilities on the international stage.

Nevertheless, and in conclusion, African policy makers should be made aware of their weaknesses and challenges as they approach not only this but other trade negotiations as well, something Sanders has made a good argument about in that regard. Katarzyna (2016) further opines that African lack of negotiating experience, suitable personnel and institutions are a handicap when faced with EU’s experience and assets.   

References

Katarzyna, K. (2016). EPA AS A TOOL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUB-SAHARAN COUNTRIES: DOES IT WORK?  Politeja, No. 42, AFRICAN STUDIES (2016), pp. 133-146. Księgarnia Akademicka

Nyomakwa-Obimpeh, J. (2017). Examining the Role of BATNA in Explaining EPA Negotiation Outcomes. Journal of Economic Integration, June 2017, Vol. 32, No. 2 (June 2017), pp. 488-530. Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University

Sanders, R. (2015). The EU, Economic Partnership Agreements and Africa. The Round Table, 104:5, 563-571, DOI: 10.1080/00358533.2015.1090815