Ministers for ECOWAS have been meeting to agree a common approach ahead of talks later this month with the EU over the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement.
EPAs are set to replace preferential bilateral trade arrangement giving African, Caribbean and Pacific states free access to the EU market while allowing them to keep tariffs on EU-sourced import. Existing preferences have to be scrapped to conform with World Trade Organization principles.

‘As much as Africa needs the EU, the EU needs Africa’ Anti-poverty campaigners say this shift to the EPA will expose fragile industries in African nations to crushing competition from more modern, efficient EU-based firms.

Brussels, Which is seeking the December 31 deadline, says it will boost their economies and attract investment toward them. The EU is West Africa’s number one trading partner.
“West Africa isn’t ready to sign such an agreement by 31 December”,   Ablasse Ouedraogo, special adviser for trade negotiations to the ECOWAS President, told Reuters late on Thursday before the start of  the West African meeting.
EU chiefs are pushing for an interim agreement while ECOWAS ministers want to pursue a legal derogation that would postpone the introduction of the EPA.
“We will then have the time to continue the (EPA) negotiations before the WTO can take action on (against us)”, he said. It  “should take less than two years” for the West Africa bloc to prepare to sign the deal, he said.   

Who do you think the Economic Partnership Agreement would favor more, please share your views.