Suchergebnisse

This masters thesis discusses the recently concluded treaty between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on the one hand and the European Union (EU) on the other. This Agreement having signed in Cotonou, Benin, is known as the Cotonou Agreement. The Cotonou Agreement is the latest in a series of conventions between the two parties that have their genesis in the late 1950s. The primary goal of this work was to find out to what extent, if at all, the newly signed Agreement is likely to contribute to the economic renaissance of the ACP countries. In so doing it traces development of the ACP-EU conventions right from their very beginning. The performance of the relationship to date is examined with a view to determining whether the lessons learnt therefrom have been incorporated in the new Agreement. There is a detailed analysis of the trade and aid provisions of the Cotonou Agreement. Apart from the economic provisions, other major provisions and developments of the ACP-EU Conventions are discussed with a view to providing a wholesome picture.

The article considers the changes that have taken place within the political economy of international trade over the last decade. The work begins by assessing briefly the dynamics of the last successful trade negotiations undertaken by the ACP Caribbean – the agreement on a single European banana market in 1993. Since then, however, the international political and economic climate has dramatically changed. The article evaluates recent developments, which have highlighted attention on the political acceptability of trade discrimination, particularly within the context of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the World Trade Organisation. In addition, there is an analysis of the reform process undertaken by the European Union, both in terms of its membership and policy agenda, which has seriously impacted on Caribbean economic interests. The article establishes that the actors representing the Caribbean were extremely successful in constructing strategic coalitions to defend their trading interests in the early 1990s, but the region must now appreciate that the international environment has changed so dramatically that former negotiating strategies are no longer appropriate. An awareness of the changed negotiating environment on the part of the Caribbean is vitally important if ongoing international trade negotiations are to be completed to the region's satisfaction. Resumen: Batallas bananeras y desafíos políticos: El grupo ACP del Caribe y la fragmentación de las coaliciones de interésEste trabajo considera los cambios ocurridos en la economía política del comercio internacional durante la última década. El artículo comienza con una breve evaluación de la dinámica de las últimas negociaciones comerciales satisfactorias del grupo ACP del Caribe: el acuerdo sobre un mercado único bananero europeo en 1993. Desde entonces, sin embargo, el clima político y económico internacional ha cambiado drásticamente. El artículo evalúa los recientes acontecimientos que han puesto de relieve la aceptabilidad política de la discriminación comercial, en particular en el contexto del Acuerdo General sobre Tarifas y Comercio y la Organización Mundial del Comercio. Además, se hace un análisis del proceso de reforma efectuado por la Unión Europea, tanto en términos de su ampliación como de su agenda política, los cuales han tenido un grave impacto en los intereses económicos caribeños. El artículo establece que a principios de los años 90 los representantes caribeños tuvieron gran éxito a la hora de desarrollar estrategias para defender sus intereses comerciales, pero en estos momentos la región debe tomar nota de que el ambiente internacional ha cambiado de forma tan radical que las antiguas estrategias de negociación no pueden considerarse ya como apropiadas. Para que la región pueda asegurar un resultado positivo de las actuales negociaciones, es de vital importancia que el Caribe tome conciencia del nuevo clima en que se desarrollan dichas negociaciones.

Since the signing of the Cotonou Agreement in 2000, the European Union (EU) has suspended development aid towards a number of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries in response to breaches of Human Rights and democratic principles by activating the so-called Human Rights clause (article 96). The present article analyses the use by the EU of aid suspensions as political tools and their efficacy in achieving the desired policy goals, in an attempt to identify and explain the determinants leading to the success of these measures. The investigation finds that the use of development aid suspensions is frequently effective. Classical sanctions theory appears to account largely for their success, given that most targets display a significant degree of dependence on the EU as a donor or a trading partner. However, and without refuting the explanatory power of that approach, a closer look at this practice unveils a number of factors that contribute to facilitate success. One of them is the selective use of the tool: suspensions are applied predominantly in cases of interruptions of the democratic process, while they are rarely used in situations of violent conflict. The specificities of the consultations mechanism, and especially the attitude of ACP neighbouring countries- often openly supportive-, largely determine the final outcome.

The Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries will not cause markets in the South to be swamped with European imports, as opponents suggest. But they will result in dramatic reductions in government revenues.