The Echoes from AEFJN No. 30 - July August 2016 are now available online. 
1512 Working Group news on Trade – December 2015
- ECOWAS would lose 3,182 billion Euro in customs duties because of EPA
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is likely to lose 3,182 billion euro in customs duties because of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The development of trade favouring imports from the EU is also weakening the regional integration process that is supposed to be one of the main objectives of the EPA, according to the secretary general of the National Coalition ‘No to EPAs’. In his opinion, by the end of the liberalization process, Nigeria’s imports would be reduced by 8.7% from Mali, 5.7% from Niger, 5% from Ghana and 4% from Côte d'Ivoire.
2. Europe’s leaders must devise a global trading system that puts the poor first
The EU made public its initial proposal for legal text on trade and sustainable development in the TTIP. However, the EU’s proposal for TTIP says virtually nothing about ensuring that the world’s biggest trade deal does not have a negative impact on developing countries. If European leaders are serious about their commitment to policy coherence for development, and about achieving the SDGs, they need to call time on the TTIP negotiations and focus their energies on building a global trading system that genuinely prioritises the interests of the world’s poorest.
3. Zambia Trade Minister: Get Involved in EPAs
COMMERCE, Trade and Industry Minister of Zambia has called on local business houses to contribute towards the implementation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to achieve the objectives. The negotiation of EPAs has not been easy because the agreements are not premised on non-reciprocal trade concessions with the EU as this was the case during Lome Convention in 2000, which caused a drastic change.