Dynamics of Nigeria-Eu Trade Cooperation: The Cotonou Years

Abstract

There is an overwhelming fear among the ECOWAS countries about the effects of unrestricted access into their markets for EU products. The fear is no doubt a genuine one and it could be a threat to West African integration. The point needs to be made that trade liberalization components of the EPA are not the same as those of ECOWAS in terms of goals, orientation and focus.  For example, while trade liberalization is an important aspect of both, its aim differs under the two. Under the EPA trade, liberalization is expected to move ECOWAS towards a WTO-compatible trade regime in its relationship with the EU. This has implications for the objectives of the ECOWAS trade liberalization programme especially the rules of origin which form the basis of the free movements of community originating products. The establishment of a CET, which is a key integration instrument, is antithetical to WTO-compatible trade regime with emphasis on reciprocity. This paper is essentially an opinion paper and therefore, examined the CET using thematic analysis of extant literature and observed that the CPA never fared well with the ECOWAS States. It therefore strongly suggests that, a total renegotiation of the CET is the only way out to enable the partnership take into cognizance, some other parts of the economy.