U.S-Africa chamber urges trade deal with EU

U.S-Africa chamber urges trade deal with EU    The U.S. African Chamber of Commerce has encouraged West African trade ministers to agree with a June 30 deadline to conclude a comprehensive regional Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.
   The EPA is a trade agreement that would define trade and development relations between Europe and West Africa.
   'Without concluding an EPA, our region will have different trade agreements with the European Union that will adversely affect our regional integration process,' USACC said in a statement Tuesday. 'So we need indeed to conclude a regional agreement to avoid having different agreements because of the differential rate of development in our region.
   'Improved access into the EU market is particularly crucial for struggling West African economies. Divisions have emerged within (the Economic Community of West African States) with last year’s signing of interim EPAs by Ivory Coast and Ghana. Without a comprehensive regional EPA in place by the June deadline, countries in West Africa, the world’s poorest region, may have to negotiate separate EPAs with the EU, undermining attempts over the past decades to forge regional economic ties.'
   USACC said the global economic slowdown in industrialized countries is having a negative effect on many African exports.