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Tanzania yet to decide where to belong on EPAs
2007-12-17 09:09:22
By Patrick Kisembo
Tanzania is yet to decide whether to move as a member of the East African Community or of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) arrangement, the government has said.
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister Bernard Membe told journalists in Dar es Salaam that the way to go would depend on which bloc promised to serve the country`s economic and other interests more where EPA applied.
The minister was briefing the media on the just-ended EU-Africa summit in Lisbon, at which he led Tanzania`s delegation on behalf of President Jakaya Kikwete.
He used the occasion to elaborate on the reasons for the government`s cautious move on declaring its stand on whether it would side with the EAC or SADC on EPA issues.
``Tanzania will join either bloc. We will ultimately decide to join either the EAC or SADC. Discussions are still going on and EU countries are supporting regional blocs on these (EPA) issues,`` he said.
The search for ready and reliable markets is the most important issue at hand and that is what will tell us where to go.
We are still negotiating with both SADC-EPA and EAC-EPA and the grouping promising to benefit us more is the one that we will choose to join,`` he elaborated.
The minister stressed that Tanzania would retain membership in both blocs ``because of historical reasons``, adding:``When it comes to EPA we shall choose one bloc but otherwise we will remain members of both the EAC and SADC.``
Membe said Tanzania fully supported EPA negotiations if that did not mean undermining, or leading to the collapse of, existing regional economic groupings.
He called on the people to exercise patience and understanding ``as internal differences within and among EAC and SADC member countries are sorted out``.
He noted that EPA involved controversial issues that could jeopardise the country`s sovereignty unless approached cautiously and strategically, the minister said Tanzania had not signed the EPA agreement but had merely initialised a process.
The process seeks to enable all EU and AU member States to gain an opportunity to cover the vacuum that will remain after the date for EPA elapses on December 31, 2007, according to the World Trade Organisation, said the minister.
``We have initialised an interim time between December 31 when the time for free import for African goods to EU markets ends and the time when the agreement is signed,`` he noted.
The EAC signed a framework agreement with the EU in Kampala last month as part of EPA talks to ensure continued access by small farmers in Africa to EU markets.
The framework agreement determines the gradual reduction and eventual scrapping of tariffs on 81 per cent of EU imports entering the EAC market.
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