TRADE-GHANA:  Mary Robinson Concerned About EU Approach to EPAs
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ACCRA, Dec 8 (IPS) - This weekend an award will be presented to the best  farmer in Ghana in recognition of the pivotal contribution that  agriculture makes to the economy of this West African country.
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Europe must show a &quot;determined, unwavering pursuit of economic reform&quot; or risk endangering its status as a &quot;global economic leader&quot;, EU trade commissioner designate Peter Mandelson warned.
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(InfoWorld) - A U.S. government official played down reports that the U.S. is considering taking the European Union to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the imposition of new duties on high-tech imports such as flat-screen monitors and digital set-top boxes. âThe U.S. has expressed its concern about the E.U. proposal to apply duties to sophisticated products covered by the Information Technology Agreement (ITA),â the official, based at the U.S. embassy in Brussels, said in a telephone interview Friday. He said taking the issue to the WTO, the worldâs trade arbitrator based in Geneva, is still a possibility. âOur options are open,â he said, but added that many concerns about trade matters do not end up as WTO cases. The ITA was signed by most countries producing IT products in 1997. It sets tariffs on goods designed for businesses at zero in order to help spur economic growth. However, as the price of items such as flat-screen monitors has fallen in recent years, they are increasingly being bought by consumers. The E.U. has started to reclassify some equipment as consumer goods, which require import tariffs of around 10 percent. Applying a tariff to new types of goods could potentially lead to higher prices, unless the vendor or manufacturer shoulders the additional cost. The European Commission, the E.U.'s representative body on trade matters, defended its actions. The E.U. classifies products on the basis of "objective criteria," Peter Power, the Commissionâs trade spokesman in a statement. "U.S. claims of E.U. re-classifying products in violation of ITA commitments are unfounded,â he said, adding that the EU "respects the spirit of the ITA" when classifying new technologies. TheÂ E.U. drew sharp criticism from the U.S.Â this week over its decision toÂ dismiss Microsoft's appealÂ of the European Commission's 2004 antitrust ruling against it. The U.S. government official, who did not wish to be identified, denied Friday that the U.S. concerns over tariffs are a reaction to that decision. "This is a long-standing issue for the U.S. government. We've been making these comments about the ITA since 2006," the official said.
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Trade, apart from peace and prosperity, is always held up as the great EU success story. If only the EU could get its act together in other areas, such as foreign affairs, it would be a global power, the argument runs.
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BRUSSELS, May 25 (IPS) - The European Union and West Africa could scarcely  be more different in terms of wealth, yet a pending trade  agreement risks making the disparity even greater.
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Brussles - EU trade chief Peter Mandelson wants clarification of the US stance in threatened WTO action over aid to Airbus, his spokeswoman said Friday after a US official indicated Washington was delaying such action.
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WASHINGTON  - The Bush administration gave notice on Thursday that it will pursue an unfair trade case accusing the 25-country European Union of operating a confusing tariff system that harms the ability of U.S. exporters to make sales.
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BRUSSELS, Oct 29 (IPS) - Just two months before a deadline set by the  European Union for signing all-embracing free trade accords with  some of the world's poorest countries, the EU has admitted  that it will have to reduce its ambition.
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BLANTYRE, Sept 12  (IPS) - The proposed economic partnership agreements  (EPAs), which are due to come into force beginning next year, may  undermine the benefits of another European Union trade  initiative, called Everything-But-Arms, for the sugar industry.
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PENANG, Malaysia, Jun 27 (IPS) - Unexpected criticism of Malaysiaâs race-based  affirmative action policy by the European Union's top envoy  reveals underlying concerns that this could be a stumbling block  to unrestricted market access for European multinational firms in  the region, say analysts.
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BONN, Mar 13 (IPS) - Europe's highest-ranking trade official has  claimed  that the entire African, Pacific and  Caribbean (ACP)  bloc is committed to reaching controversial free trade  deals  with the EU by  the end of this year. Not everyone from the ACP  group thinks so.
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PARIS, Jan 26  (IPS) - While the real impact of the economic partnership  agreements (EPAs) on the economies of African, Caribbean and  Pacific (ACP) countries will be ââsmallââ, the pace of  negotiations and of the liberalisation of their markets is too  fast and will damage their economies, according to numerous  French economists and development experts.
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BLANTYRE, Aug 23  (IPS) - Manufacturers, exporters and even government  officials in Malawi are jittery about January 1, 2008. On that  day the economic partnership agreements (EPAs), currently being  negotiated between the European Union (EU) and six groupings of  African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, will come into  force.
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Â· Portugal sees EU-African Union meeting as priority Â· Britain and most members fiercely opposed to move
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BRUSSELS, Jan 31  (IPS) - Conscious that trade issues had become a major  source of friction between African countries and their former  colonial overlords, the European Commission President JosÃ© Manuel  Barroso extended an olive branch in December.
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YORK, (Britain), Sep 21 (IPS) - The newly launched East Africa Organic Standard,  designed to boost exports to Europe, could fall at the first  hurdle if the largest licensing body in the UK decides in  November that air-freighted produce no longer qualifies as  organic.
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NAIROBI, Sep 24  (IPS) - While east Africans still hold reservations about  the benefits of the economic partnership agreement (EPA)  currently being negotiated with the European Union (EU), both  government and civil society representatives seem to be accepting  that it is the best option available.