Lome and Cotonou
The "development dimension": matching problems and solutions
Can Economic Partnership Agreements achieve the status of development "accords"?
Authors:
E. Anderson; C. Stevens
Publisher:
Overseas Development Institute, London, 2006
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are thought to be a pragmatic fix to world trade problems, and their supporters also believe they can facilitate the achievement of broader development goals. This briefing paper examines what EPAs must offer if they are to be 'development agreements'.
The authors assess the benefits of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) and discuss potential gaps which may be filled by the integration of more substantial EPAs. By examining the increasing marginalisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations of the CPA, the paper provides numerous illustrations of the agreement's underlying problems. Other analyses, however, demonstrate that the provisions within the CPA may not be stretched that much further through an EPA.
The discussion leads to the overall conclusion that there are, in fact, some ways in which an EPA could supplement the CPA. For example, it could increase certainty of implementation for the wide raft of measures needed to improve the supply capacity of the ACP and enhance the poverty reduction effects of any increased trade. A binding commitment to deliver to ACP nations the resources necessary to manage the challenges of globalisation is suggested as a good place to start.
