Inequality and injustices of EPAs under fire
The countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) are not
on equal footing with the European Union, and as such Sir Ronald Sanders
is asserting that instead of calling for reciprocity, proportionality
should be a principle embedded in the Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA).
Urging that the disparities between the African, Caribbean and
Pacific (ACP) Group and the European Union are drastic when placed in
the context of the EPA, addressing an audience at the EU-ECOWAS Economic
Partnership Conference in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday, was Sir Ronald.
He said, “‘Reciprocity’, as a principle, has a ring of fairness about it; but that is as between equals.”
“Between factors of unequal strength and capacity, ‘reciprocity’ is more than unfair; it is unjust.
“If you put a heavyweight and a featherweight in a boxing ring have
you staged an equal contest? Is the short-sightedness of this demand for
reciprocity, not obvious?”
“You would have thought the Europeans would know better; and of course they do.”
Centuries ago, Aristotle in his ‘Ethics’ propounded the doctrine
that: as between unequals, equity requires not reciprocity but
proportionality.
“The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group have long fought for proportionality.”
“It was at the heart of the Lomé and Cotonou agreements between the
EU and the ACP. It was at the root of the call for ‘special and
differential’ treatment for developing countries. It is the central
principle of fairness that requires movement towards ‘proportionality’
by special developmental measures in trade agreements between rich and
poor countries.”
