Kwasi Kpodo, Contributor

ACCRA (Reuters):

West Africa's ECOWAS bloc says member states can do last-ditch deals with Europe to avoid disrupting exports in 2008, but warned they shouldn't sign broader economic accords ahead of a possible regional deal.

"We definitely do not object to these individual negotiations with the EU, while we continue to engage our European partners in order to resolve the thorny issues around the sub-stantive EPA (Economic Partnership Agreements)," ECOWAS Com-mission President Mohamed Ibn Chambas told Reuters.

Europe's preferential trade terms for nearly 80 former African, Caribbean and Pacific colonies violate World Trade Organisation rules, and a waiver expires on Dec. 31. Brussels had hoped to sign far-reaching EPAs covering a range of areas from services, trade, intellectual property and government procurement standards, but has run out of time and is trying to reach interim deals with countries whose exports will attract tariffs after January 1.

While Caribbean countries have found themselves in a position similar to ECOWAS, they have up to now resisted doing side deals hoping instead to complete a comprehensive pact with the EU.

"We are very much concerned and share in their view that there should be some interim arrangement put in place, otherwise the livelihood of the people could be jeopardised," Chambas said in an interview late on Wednesday.

Both the regional EPAs and the interim deals are expected to abolish tariffs immediately on most exports to Europe, and gradually phase out trade taxes on 80 percent of imported goods from Europe over periods of up to 15 years.

ECOWAS is negotiating on behalf of its 15 members and neighbouring Mauritania in EPA talks, which have polarised the development community and commercial interests, souring the atmosphere of an EU-Africa summit in Lisbon last weekend.

Brussels is proposing free trade agreements with six regional EPA groupings, four of them in Africa, which will cover a far broader range of trade and investment issues than exports covered by a series of previous trade deals.

Opponents say the deals will deprive poor countries of vital tariff income and may threaten their industries with tough or unfair competition, such as imports from EU-subsidised farms.

STAGGERED START

Less poor nations are under more pressure to do interim deals as they do not qualify for Europe's "everything but arms" programme for the poorest countries.

However, the biggest ECOWAS economy, Nigeria, has shunned any deal, and its huge oil exports would be unaffected.

Top cocoa grower Ivory Coast became the first West African country to initial an interim trade deal last week.

Neighbouring Ghana, the world's second biggest cocoa grower, had planned to ink a deal on Wednesday, but negotiations were held up by differences between the Ghanaian and EU delegations.

"We can only sign only after these sticky issues are resolved," a top Ghanaian government negotiator said, but declined to give details or be identified.

Chambas said Ghana's deal was strictly to safeguard exports.

Broader aspects of an EPA, including the four controversial "Singapore issues" — investment, competition, government procurement and trade facilitation — should only be covered at regional-level talks which would resume on Dec. 17, he said.

"We have made it clear to our members that they should leave the negotiations on the EPA for ECOWAS and we'd continue to repeat this point to ensure regional solidarity," Chambas said.

Reuters