The Economic Justice Network – EJN is challenging Ghana to pay a 52 million dollar cost and refuse to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.
According to the group, this alternative is better than the projected 400 million dollars Ghana stands to lose if it signs the EPA. The major European Market for horticulture, tuna and cocoa processing product categories are expected to be affected if Ghana refuses to sign the EPA with the EU.
Speaking to Citi Business News a representative of EJN, Tetteh Hormeku said, “Only 28 percent will now face problems, only three major product categories will face challenges. They can still export but they simply have to pay duty for their goods. Some of them will pay between 2-8percent duty.
The United Nations economic commission for Africa has done a study based on the Export of all these products over the last five years, the total amount of extra duty to be paid by these three product categories is 52 million dollars a year.
But if we don’t sign the EPA, we will be saving 400 million dollars a year”. He also rubbished arguments by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Haruna Iddrisu that failure on the part of Ghana to sign onto the EPA will mean a total loss of the European market for all exports.
“If we don’t sign the EPA it is not true that the whole 40 percent of our exports to the European market will suffer. If we don’t sign the EPA, 72 percent of our current exports to EU will still continue to go duty free. Why? Because there is something called generalized system of preferences, under which the EU treats all developing countries like us the same and give us access duty free. If it stops it will be breaking WTO rules. The EU cannot stop our 72 percent from going,’’ he stated.
Mr. Hormeku dismissed assertions by government that civil society groups against the EPA have failed to table realistic alternatives.
“So we are saying this is simple arithmetic, take the 52 out of the 400, and give it to the three product categories to do their duty, if you do that three things will happen, first of all they will be meeting their duty, and secondly you will be saving 348 million dollars and you will be saving industry which will have collapsed and saved policy space” he NOTED.
However a senior lecturer at the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana has dismissed calls for government not to sign the economic partnership agreement with the European Union.
According to Dr. Eric Osei Assibey the anti EPA calls by civil society and other stakeholders are not grounded in scientific research of the cost-benefit analysis of the trade agreement.
Speaking on the socio-economic impact of the EPA at a sensitization workshop in Accra, He disagreed with the position of the Economic Justice Network-EJN and said their concerns have been addressed in the new EPA pact.
By: Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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