Journal Article
Designing Economic Partnership Agreements to Promote Intra-Regional Trade in ACP Countries

The final details of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) are being negotiated over the next few years. This paper suggests how EPAs can facilitate intra-regional trade, given that promoting regional integration within ACP was an objective. Specifically, ACP regions may benefit by treating products traded within the region as sensitive for EPAs, hence postponing any reductions on tariffs on imports of such products from the EU. Less directly, if the EU supports measures that enhance the productivity and competitiveness of domestic producers, supply-side capacity can be improved.