Politics
African Leaders Join Nigeria to Reject European Economic Agreement
African Ministers of Trade and experts in trade and regional integration have aligned with Nigeria’s position on the trade liberalization deal with the European Union under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), saying it will have a long-term negative impact on the continent’s efforts towards industrialization and job creation.
The ministers spoke during the Extra-ordinary Session of the Conference of African Union Ministers of Trade in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia yesterday. The meeting was convened to discuss Africa’s common position ahead of the October 1 deadline for signing of the EPA with the EU; the establishment of the Common Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 2015; extension of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by the American Government for 15 more years; and Africa’s strategic response to World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, among others.
While reiterating Nigeria’s position on EPA, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said, “Nigeria’s position on EPA is very clear. Africa is on the rise. It is a very big and strategic market for any trading partner and that is what the EU wants from us but Africa must jealously protect what it has.”
Aganga also said, “We should leverage our abundant natural resources and large market to develop our industries; create jobs for our people; increase intra-African trade and achieve regional integration. We must not be in a hurry to give away what we have. We must not sign an agreement without first of all carrying out a robust economic analysis of the overall impact the agreement will have on the region, our children and future generations.”
Zambian Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Mr. Robert Sichinga, said he agreed with Nigeria’s position, noting that rather than jeopardizing their industrialization and job creation drive by hastily signing the EPA, African countries should work towards enhancing regional integration and intra-African Trade through value addition of their abundant raw materials, “especially in the areas where they have competitive and comparative advantage.”
He said, “Just like Nigeria has pointed out, before we sign the EPA, we should consider the impact on our children and the future of the continent in terms of industrialization, job creation and regional integration. I want to state that as long as we have not appended our signatures to the agreement, then there is no agreement. Also, I believe that it is better not to sign an agreement at all than to sign a bad one.”
The African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Mr. Fatima Haram, also agreed that signing the EPA would have a negative impact on Africa’s industrialization, job creation and regional integration of African countries. Haram said, “Just as Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has pointed out, industrialization is an issue that is very critical to the economic and political survival of African countries. If we sign the EPA as it is today, it is going to be difficult for us to integrate because of different Custom Areas.”
