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ESA-EU Interim EPA
Document no. 3
EPA COMMITTEE
5th Meeting
Brussels, 12 & 13 December 2016
MINUTES OF THE FIFTH MEETING OF THE EPA COMMITTEE
1. The fifth meeting of the EPA Committee took place on 12 and 13 December 2016
in Brussels under the Co-Chairmanship of
,
,
Directorate General for Trade, representing the EU side and H.E. Mr
Haymandoyal Dil um, Ambassador of Mauritius, representing the ESA side. A list
of participants
(Document no. 1) is attached.
Agenda Item 1: Adoption of the Agenda
2. The agenda as agreed by both sides was adopted as per
Document no. 2.
Agenda Item 2: Opening Statements
3. In
opening statement,
recalled the common journey in this
partnership, its main achievements and proposed several areas to focus on in the
course of the next year such as the Rules of Origin Modernisation, presentation of
the agreement in the WTO and working together to create a favourable context for
trade and investment to grow.
also underlined the importance of raising
awareness on the opportunities the EPA can bring. Ambassador Dil um recalled
historical relations between ESA and EU and acknowledged importance of the EU
as a major development partner. He asked for EU flexibility in the upcoming
discussions.
Agenda Item 3: Matters arising from the Minutes of the Fourth Meeting of the
ESA-EU EPA Committee
4. Matters arising from the fourth meeting were covered by the ensuing agenda
items.
Agenda Item 4: Review of the Implementation of the ESA-EU iEPA
5. The ESA side provided an overview of their state of implementation of the iEPA.
5.1. The delegation of
Zimbabwe reaffirmed its commitment to the iEPA and
informed that it started implementing the market access schedule by
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publication of the Statutory Instrument 117 of 2016 on 7 October. It welcomed
the envisaged support to the selected value chains and asked for an al
stakeholder workshop to be organized in Zimbabwe in the course of 2017.
5.2. The delegation of
Madagascar informed that it implements the iEPA since
2014. It acknowledged the opportunities under the iEPA as several sectors
have increased their exports such as textile and clothing or nickel.
Nevertheless, there are chal enges as wel - the budgetary impact, NTMs,
octroi de mer, REACH Regulation or erosion of preferences. Private sector
needs to be better informed.
5.3. The delegation of
Seychelles informed that it implements the iEPA as per the
market access schedule and its bil for tariff cuts 2017- 2022 wil be enacted
the same week.
5.4. The delegation of
Mauritius informed that the iEPA implementation is smooth
and outlined its vision for developing new pil ars of economy which should be
innovation driven. Its aim is to diversify both products and markets for exports
to tap the potential of the iEPA. Mauritius also indicated that it is reviewing its
IP strategy and asked for an EU GI expert to be sent to Mauritius for training.
5.5. The EU recal ed it fully implements the iEPA already since 2008 and
appreciated efforts in the implementation by all the ESA states. As regards
challenges provided by the NTMs, the EU support as well as dialogue
between the competent services could be used to tackle them. There are also
success stories, e.g. horticulture exports by Zimbabwe. The EU responded
positively to the requests to hold an awareness raising event in Zimbabwe
and to provide GI training in Mauritius. On the octroi de mer, the EU drew
attention to the revision of this regime planned for 2017 and invited ESA
states to contribute with concrete detailed information on its effect on their
exports. The lead service is DG TAXUD. As regards the REACH Regulation,
there already has been a discussion with DG GROW which should be
continued if needed. The EU proposed to share contacts in DG GROW as
well as websites on the ongoing REACH REFIT evaluation to which ESA can
contribute. [This has been already provided.]
6. The ESA side informed of its Study on impact of the iEPA on trade flows and on
the establishment of the EPA Fund which is almost finalised. There was a
validation workshop in September 2016 in Mauritius, national consultation and
discussions with the EU wil be needed on the final outcome. ESA states are not
fully satisfied with the draft report. Zimbabwe delegation highlighted there are stil
some issues with statistics used which need to be revised. Nevertheless, most
recommendations focus on SPS, TBT, NTMs and rules of origin. ESA States
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suggested that texts on these areas negotiated under the comprehensive EPA
should be the basis for advancement of discussions under the iEPA.
7. The EU informed that it sent its comments on the draft of the study in November
and has not seen any final version since then.
8. The EU informed of the need to transpose the market access schedules to the
new HS 2017 and offered assistance to the ESA states.
9. The EU underlined the importance of transparency and predictability in the
implementation of the market access schedules and the need for any changes in
the nomenclature and tariffs to be properly published and widely communicated,
e. g. via trade portals. Both sides agreed that regular exchange of information in
respect of tariff reductions and modifications of the tarif nomenclature should take
place at the EPA Committee. To this end the parties also agreed to submit
national contact points.
10. The EU updated the ESA side on the state of the publication of the corrections of
the market access schedules which should materialise in the first half of 2017.
11. The EU also explained that due to the political situation ad several elections in the
past two years Croatia's accession to the iEPA has been delayed, but is now back
on track and is expected in the course of the next year. Nevertheless, Croatia
already provides DFQF access to al imports originating in the ESA states so
there is no negative impact.
Agenda Item 5: Rules of Origin
12. The EU recalled progress achieved in the discussions on the modernisation of the
rules of origin of the iEPA and asked for a joint ESA position on the EU proposal
which was made during the first round of the negotiations on the ESA-EU iEPA
Rules of Origin Modernisation (Brussels, 3-5 October 2016).
13. The ESA side communicated its agreement with the modernisation package
proposed by the EU with one exception: ESA requested that the definition of the
ACP States and cumulation rules of the iEPA are not changed. The EU agreed
with ESA's request to keep the current status quo as regards cumulation of origin.
The modernisation package is thus deemed agreed between the parties.
Agenda Item 6: Deepening and widening of the iEPA
14. The ESA Party informed the EU that the ESA EPA Council of Ministers held in
Antananarivo, Madagascar on 15 October 2016 decided that the way forward for
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the ESA group is the deepening and widening of the iEPA by its signatories while
other ESA countries may join at a later stage. The ESA Party thus requested the
EU to engage in the deepening and widening of the iEPA and committed to
submit a detailed written proposal on the areas for the deepening of the iEPA in
line with its Article 53.
15. The EU Party welcomed this positive development and indicated that there are
also areas of interest to the EU, including trade and sustainable development and
a robust civil society engagement. The EU informed on the need to undertake an
assessment in line with the EU procedures. The Parties agreed to jointly define
the scope and objectives of the deepening before launching the process. At the
same time the EU encouraged the ESA States to seek also other ways of
cooperation, e.g. on SPS or TBT issues, though the existing contacts and
dialogue without the need to amend the agreement.
Agenda Item 7: ESA EPA Business Forum
16. Seychelles gave an overview of the state of play of organisation of the Business
and Investment Forum to be held in Seychel es. The proposed dates are 30-31
May 2017, in the margins of the annual economic forum of the IOC Chambers of
Commerce.
Agenda Item 8: FTAs with Third countries
17. The EU provided an overview of the state of play of EPAs with other
configurations and FTAs currently being negotiated or just concluded with third
countries including US, Canada, Japan, MERCOSUR, Vietnam, Indonesia and
Philippines. Negotiations with India, Malaysia and Thailand are currently on hold.
18. The ESA side observed that the conclusion of these FTAs wil erode the
preferences granted under the iEPA and requested a carve-out or longer
transitional periods for the sensitive products.
19. Except for the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement and the Continental Free Trade
Agreement, only Mauritius is involved in other trade negotiations – with India and
Turkey and most recently also with China and Tunisia. It already has an
agreement with Pakistan which was notified to the WTO. Last year Seychel es
acceded to the SADC FTA and joined the WTO.
20. The EU and Mauritius updated the participants on the state of play of the
plurilateral Trade in Services Agreement negotiations.
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Agenda Item 9: Trade and investment policies
21. The EU introduced the idea of developing joint non-binding investment principles
between the EU and Africa with a view to sending a strong message to investors
and the international community. It could be one of the deliverables of the EU-
Africa Summit next year and also facilitate broader dialogue on investment issues
between the two regions.
Agenda Item 10: Report from the Sub-Committees
22. The Sub-Committees reported back to the EPA Committee. The minutes of the
Customs Cooperation Committee
(Document no.3) and the Joint Development
Committee
(Document no. 4) are attached.
Agenda Item 11: A.O.B
23. ESA side expressed concerns about possible impact of the withdrawal of the UK
from the EU and pointed to several reports which suggested that the ACP
countries wil be mostly affected. ESA side called for transposition of the current
arrangements into the future trade relationship. The EU took note of the concerns.
24. Both sides agreed to consult on the date and place for the next meeting.
Agenda Item 12: Consideration and Adoption of Minutes
25. The parties agreed to adopt the minutes at a later date.
Agenda Item 13: Adoption of a Joint Communique
26. The Parties adopted the Joint Communique
(Document no.5).
Agenda Item 14: Closing Remarks
27. Both sides expressed satisfaction that the meeting took place in a very cordial
and constructive atmosphere.
Signed in Brussels on …
Haymandoyal Dil um
Co-Chair for the EU Party
Co-Chair for the ESA Party
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