The EPA covers Market Access for Goods, Investment, Trade in Services and Trade- Related Issues, Legal and Institutional Issues, and Development Cooperation.
Trade in Goods
Regional exporters secured duty free, quota free access to the markets of the EU for almost all products with the exception of rice and sugar. A managed regime for sugar within the EU will continue until 30th September 2017.
CARIFORUM is required to liberalise its market on a phased basis over 25 years with effect from 1st January 2011. Over the 25 years, the CARIFORUM countries will liberalise tariffs to the EU on 86.9 percent of goods which can enter its market.
Various sensitive products have been excluded from tariff liberalisation by CARIFORUM countries. –i.e., there is an Exclusions List of goods on which tariffs will be applied at MFN rates.
Investment and Trade in Services
Various service sectors are liberalised by the EU and CARIFORUM countries. The Agreement includes special provisions for “Short Term Visitors for Business Purposes” in the following areas; research and design, marketing research, training seminars, trade fairs and exhibitions, sales, purchasing and tourism.
Regional investors should benefit from liberalisation in almost all sectors in the EU with only some exclusions in a few sectors and limitations in mainly the new EU Member States.
The EU has liberalized eleven (11) sectors to allow for temporary entry by Independent Professionals or self-employed persons of CARIFORUM origin. These include-Legal Advisory services in respect of international public law and foreign law (i.e. non-EU law), Architectural services, Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture Services, Engineering services, Translation and Interpretation services, Integrated Engineering services, Computer and related services, and Management Consulting services.
A bona fide service provider from the region, in selected categories, is accorded the opportunity to stay in any EUMember State up to 90 days in a calendar year.
Twenty Five (25) of the Twenty Eight (28) EU States have undertaken liberalisation commitments in the entertainment services subsector, subject to conditions.
Trade-related Provisions
These include Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights, Public Procurement, Competition Policy and Protection of Personal Data.
Dispute Settlement and Institutional Provisions
The EPA provisions for settling disputes between the EU and CARIFORUM countries include resort to arbitration. Institutions to supervise the implementation of the EPA include the Trade and Development Committee, the Joint Ministerial Council, the Parliamentary Committee and the Consultative Committee (of non-State actors).
Development Cooperation
Under the ACP/EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement, the European Development Fund (EDF) remains the main financing instrument of ACP-EU cooperation. The 10th EDF programme, which ran from 2008-2013, provided €165mnin support, with allocations to the CARIFORUM Regional Indicative Programme (CRIP) and to EPA implementation. The current 11th EDF Programme will run until 2020. In addition, Articles 7 and 8 of the EPA specifically refer to development cooperation which is also infused throughout the Chapters of the Agreement.
For the text of the EPA, see: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2008/february/tradoc_137971.pdf
