Experts from Nigeria and the international community would converge on Abuja this week to chart a course for the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA).

The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) are negotiating the EPA. One of four candidates currently vying for the influential post of the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Sir. Ronald Sanders is expected in Nigeria, at the invitation of Africa Today, a leading pan-African newsmagazine.

Sir Sanders is to deliver the keynote address at the international conference on the EU-ECOWAS Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The conference organized by Africa Today will take place, July 28 to 29, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.

The renowned diplomat and scholar, who is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, is expected to share and give his insight into international trade negotiations, most especially as they pertain to the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries, with members of the Nigerian business community and government officials.

Sir Sanders has considerable experience in international trade negotiations especially with the European Union (EU). He was a member of the Caribbean team that negotiated with the EU on their EPA. Aside that he was also a former Ambassador to the old European Economic Community (EEC) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The Caribbean region has since signed their EPA with the EU. Justifying inviting Sir Sanders to Nigeria, publisher of Africa Today, Mr. Kayode Soyinka, said in Abuja: “I sit with Sir Sanders on The Round Table – the Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, which has been publishing since 1910.

And I have been very privileged from that close quarter to know and respect his views on the EPA, which are very progressive and I would like my people here in Nigeria, in particular, and ECOWAS and Africa in general to listen to him. That is why we are bring him to Abuja for this EPA conference as the Keynote Speaker.”

Soyinka added that “Nigeria, most especially members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANT) NACCIMA – the chambers of commerce, and of course the consumers, can get the benefit of the Caribbean experience from someone like Sir Sanders close to the center of the negotiations.

Sanders has a progressive view about the EPA and his views will be beneficial, insightful and an eye opener for Nigeria, ECOWAS and the AU. His contribution to the discussion in Abuja will go a long way in deciding whether it is helpful for and beneficial to Nigeria, ECOWAS and Africa as a whole to sign the EPA or not”.

As Africa’s economic powerhouse, other countries on the continent will certainly take their cue from Nigeria’s decision. The EPA, a controversial issue over the years, is a reciprocal preferential trade agreement being promoted by the EU to create a Free Trade Area [FTA] between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States [ACP] through six regional economic communities into which the ACP is divided.

The ECOWAS Commission, one of the six regional economic communities, negotiated agreement on behalf of the 16 countries in West Africa, including Nigeria. The agreement was concluded in July 2014 after 11 years of negotiations. Nigeria has expressed reservations on the agreement’s current form due to the perceived economic implications to its economy.

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Background

An international conference to critically examine the merits or otherwise of Africa signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is scheduled to hold in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, July 28-29. Organised by Africa Today, the London based pan-African news magazine, the conference hopes to beam the spotlight on the agreement that has split the continent into two: those countries wanting to sign and those not wanting to unless the continent gets a more favourable deal.

The conference is expected to put the EPA on the front burner of national discourse, enlighten ordinary citizens and business people, examine the agreement’s pros and cons as they affect Nigeria’s economy and those of the countries in the west African sub-region. The EPA remains a thorny trade issue between Europe and Africa. The deadline for signing the agreement was missed last October and Europe is insisting it would not come back to the negotiation table.

The conference could not have come at a better time, at least for Nigeria. The country is Africa’s biggest economy and it has a new government in place; signing – or not signing – the EPA would be among its early major foreign policy actions. In addition, countries taking their cue from Nigeria’s reluctance to sign the agreement would want to know if the new administration would maintain the status quo or chart a new course relating to the agreement. The Goodluck Jonathan administration had gingerly avoided signing the agreement for a number of years. At an Extra-Ordinary Session of the Conference of African Union Ministers of Trade in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2014, the then Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, had come out openly against the agreement saying it wasn’t favourable to Africa. This was despite progress made by some regional blocs towards finalising the pact.

Aganga said then: “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. That is what the EU wants from us but Africa must jealously protect what it has. 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.” Aganga’s position was supported by trade ministers from other African countries and AU’s Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Fatima Haram. The ministers, in backing Aganga, said the deal would have a long-term negative impact on the continent’s efforts towards industrialisation and job creation. It was even suggested at the meeting that should the negotiations continue along the same vein, Africa should consider other alternatives such as deepening intra-African trade ties and pushing for alternative arrangements with Brussels, such as the EU Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

The trade ministers’ meeting was convened to discuss Africa’s common position ahead of the October 1 deadline for signing the EPA with EU; the establishment of the Common Free Trade Area, CFTA, by 2015; extension of African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, by the United States for 15 more years and Africa’s strategic response to World Trade Organisation negotiations, among others. Nigeria’s decision not to quickly sign on the dotted lines is, perhaps, the best position considering what it might lose when the country’s borders are thrown wide open to European goods. However, how it intends to navigate the murky waters of international trade to get the best possible deal for the country and indeed the west African sub-region remains uncertain.

The EPA conference has been endorsed by various Nigerian government agencies thereby underscoring its importance to the country. The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in a letter signed by Felix Asikpata, director (Trade), acknowledged that the EPA conference will “provide another platform to discuss the salient and contentious issue in the EPA as well as further educate the key stakeholders.” The National Planning Commission (NPC) too has endorsed the conference and is offering technical advice. Members of the Organised Private Sector, especially from the manufacturing sector, have also endorsed the conference. Also the Bank of Industry, ECOWAS, Manufactures Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Association of Nigerian Traders, the Nigeria Custom Service and other stakeholders have given the conference their seal of approval. They are mostly to be affected if and when the deal is signed.

The list of confirmed speakers for the two-day conference underscores its significance. Drawn from a wide array of sectors including the academia, trade, diplomacy, government, manufacturing and the banking industry, speakers include Ademola Oyedeji, emeritus professor of economics, University of Ibadan and chairman, Center for Trade and Development Initiatives (CTDI), Rasheed Olaoluwa, managing director of the Bank of Industry, S.U. Jacobs, president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and Ken Ukaoha, president, National Association of Nigerian Traders. The conference will also be addressed by Sir Shridath Ramphal, former secretary general of the Commonwealth and Sir Ronald Sanders, member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, who will also be the conference keynote speaker. Sanders, one of the four candidates vying for the post of the Commonwealth Secretary General, was involved in the EPA negotiation the Caribbean had with the EU and his experiences will be of immense benefit to the conference. Part of the activities of the international conference is the Africa launch of the memoirs of Sir Shridath Ramphal which was launched in the UK last year.

The EPA is a reciprocal preferential trade agreement being promoted by the EU to create a Free Trade Area FTA between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States ACP through six regional economic communities into which the ACP is divided. The ECOWAS Commission, one of the six regional economic communities, negotiated the agreement on behalf of the 16 countries in west Africa, including Nigeria. The agreement, which was concluded in July 2014 after 11 years of negotiations, has been contentious over the years. Nigeria expressed reservations over the agreement’s current form due to the perceived economic implications to its economy. When the agreement is signed African countries are expected to open their borders to goods and products produced in the EU with the EU reciprocating by allowing goods and products produced in Africa into their countries.