Leadership (Abuja)
9 October 2008
The President of the National Association of Nigerian Traders, Barr. Ken Ukaoha has said that Nigeria is bound to lose over N58billion if the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), with the European Union (EU), under the auspices of ECOWAS as it stands, sails through.
Ukaoha who spoke at the opening ceremony at the 3-day workshop on the EPA regional list of sensitive product yesterday in Abuja, stated that the consultative forum was aimed at deliberating and considering sensitive product lists so as to determine the degree (coverage) and the extent (depth) of trade liberalisation, in order to consider which of the products to be either excluded from liberalisation or are to be partially and gradually liberalised over time.
Ukaoha further revealed, "at the coming into force of the EPA, Nigeria's tariffs will reduce from a maximum of 150 per cent to 20 per cent within the context of the common external tariffs in the ECOWAS region, while Nigeria will reduce tariffs on imports from the EU to 0 per cent starting from 2008 to 2020.
"Both implications of EPA have adjustment costs for Nigeria. In quantitative terms, imports from EU will grow by 21 per cent, while fiscal revenue loss of $487million and the trade diversion of $229 million will arise from the agreement", he averred.
Other disadvantaged positions of the country in the proposed EPA include; structural marginalisation which tends to leave Nigeria objectively marginalised in a grossly unfair way that also undermines regional unity, which external parties including the EU gleefully exploit to the region's detriment.
By implication, and considering the fact that Nigeria is still an emerging economy, Ukaoha advocated that due recognition be given to the essence and importance of policy space which is the right of every nation, delegates should look at other areas of negotiation apart from opening up boarders, otherwise we are signing for nothing, since there is no benchmark.
NANTS President, who maintained that development oriented EPA was the ingredient missing in the agenda of the proposed trade agreement, and reiterated that the workshop will prepare Nigeria's delegates with the options, itemised interests as well as offering opportunity to speak the minds of Nigerians.
In his welcome address, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Engr. Charles Ugwu, disclosed that government's engagement in the EPA negotiations places greater emphasis on consultation as part of the participatory process to ensure that the country's trade and economic interest are not compromised in the negotiations.
Ugwu who was represented by Mr. Sunday Oghayei, an Assistant Commercial Officer in the Ministry, averred that the present exercise in selecting the region's list of sensitive products was part of measures to ensure that we do not completely open our economy to the EU.
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