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The EU–SADC EPA: Road Map and Conflicts (2006–2010)

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International Trade Policy and Class Dynamics in South Africa

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

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Abstract

This chapter establishes the setting of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and its concrete regional setting in the South African Development Community. It provides the context of the historical evolution of the EPA, but also outlines the concrete stages of the negotiations and the background. The EPA negotiations have resulted in major conflicts over several trade and development issues as well as diverse positions within the region. The chapter provides insights into the conflict issues within the trade agreement and also within the region. South Africa declined to sign the EPA, while the neighbouring countries agreed on an interim agreement.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Other states, like Zambia, negotiated in the COMESA EPA group, and Tanzania later shifted to the EAC EPA group (Woolfrey 2010: 114).

  2. 2.

    COMESA is a purely economic and trade cooperation agreement, while the SADC also has a political and security dimension in its agenda.

  3. 3.

    Furthermore, not only the SADC but also its counterparts COMESA and the EAC decided in 2008 to establish a joint tripartite free trade area by 2016. However, the negotiation process remains slow (Charalambous 2013).

  4. 4.

    The conflict potential differs from region to region, but while the Cariforum region accepted a full EPA, the SADC EPA group hesitated in including these issues.

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  1. University of Kassel, Kassel, Hessen, Germany

    Simone Claar

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Claar, S. (2018). The EU–SADC EPA: Road Map and Conflicts (2006–2010). In: International Trade Policy and Class Dynamics in South Africa. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65714-1_8

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