{As East African Community (EAC) members countdown to the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the government yesterday said that it is not the right time to endorse the said protocol.}
The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, East Africa, Regional and International Cooperation, Dr Aziz Mlima, told reporters that the decision was meant to protect the economic interests of the country.
However, this follows the international economic tremor that hit the world following Britain’s referendum that saw it leaving the European Union (EU). “We have all witnessed what happened in the EU in the past few days.
“We think it is not the right time for us to sign the agreement. There are still contentious issues which need to be settled to ensure Tanzania is not turned into a source of raw materials and markets for European goods,” Mr Mlima noted.
The PS further said that the protocol scheduled for signing on July 18 will have a devastating effect on the economy of low income countries turning their economies into market peripheries for industrial nations, while destroying some of the prospective industries.
The fifth phase government’s priority is to create an industrialised economy. The PS further clarified that by dropping EPA, Tanzania has nothing to lose because it would continue trading with other countries in the world.
Dr Mlima further said that safeguarding the economy of the country was the core reason. He added that the way the agreement was crafted did not meet the country’s objective in becoming an industrialised nation.
Though EAC partner states proposed the EPA signing ceremony to be in the first week of August, this year, some recommended 18th July 2016. EPA intends to enhance regional integration and economic development in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
The agreement is based on the principle of asymmetrical market opening, meaning that it provides a better access to the EU market for ACP partners. EPA notably offers unprecedented market opportunities for agricultural and fisheries products.
EPA replaces the previous market access regime of unilateral preferences for ACP countries. Negotiation for EPA between EAC and EU started in 2007 initialing the framework on November 27 of that year. But the two blocs failed to agree, resulting in postponement of the deadline several times.
In October 2014, after nearly one decade of gruelling negotiations, the EAC finalised negotiations for a region-to-region comprehensive EPA, covering trade in goods and development cooperation with EU. The deal, which is in line with the EAC Common External Tariff, supports the EAC’s ambitious regional integration project.
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