The European Union held a vote on Thursday considering a new report that would revive EU Africa trade agreements.
In this paper, more equitable treatment of African nations within the context of their existing bilateral trade agreements is advocated, which has been forwarded to the European Commission (EC) for deliberation and, if necessary, resolution.
The paper, which was authored by the European Union Committee on International Trade, provides a number of suggestions for potential investments in Africa in the future.
The vote on the “Future of EU Africa trade agreements” will centre on five primary topics: food security, infrastructure, fair trade treaties, civil society, and workable economic development.
One of the recommendations stated in the study is a demand for the European Commission (EC) to refrain from proposing any new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) before examining the effect these agreements have on African economies.
According to the report, the European Union Parliament is “deeply concerned” about the high dependence of African states on food imports, particularly from the European Union. This is especially true when these imports are made up of subsidised products whose low price represents harmful competition for small-scale agriculture in Africa.
To address the precarious state of industrial value chains in Africa, the European Parliament has put forth a demand for economic operations to be moved to the African continent and for Europe to share its technological know-how with Africa. These two measures are intended to bring about a resolution to the problem.
In a similar vein, the report provides support for pan-African initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and advocates for increased cooperation on the establishment of circular economic models. These models are intended to preserve the maximum amount of value that may be extracted from products such as raw materials, while simultaneously reducing both the consumption of resources and the emissions of greenhouse gases.
The research also requests that the European Commission reconsider its carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for African imports in light of the growing connection between international commerce and climate change.
In addition to this, the research underscores the threat posed by the expanding influence of Russia and China in Africa, and it provides solutions to halt this expansion.
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