In the Focus: Economic Partnership Agreements

A viewpoint by Joseph Ssuuna, Director of the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management Association, Uganda

While hyped as the most viable strategy to enhance ACP countries’ participation in global trade, EPAs are broadly viewed as suspect by many in Africa. A key reason for this is the fact that the entire EPA process has been shrouded with a lack of transparency and is driven by a powerful inclination to impose EU trade and investment interests without sensitivity to the concerns of people in Africa. Primarily, and contrary to understandings reached at an earlier stage, negotiations between ACP governments and EU delegations are often excluding other key stakeholders or at best availing them tokenistic space. For us as PELUM, this leaves no option but to oppose the EPAs.