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- Author: Anna K. Dickson x
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This chapter seeks to identify the main determinants of the European Union (EU) trade policy in relation to the developing countries. It asks why the EU has adopted trade liberalisation rather than any other option for the future of its relations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states, and in stark contrast to the previous policies. The chapter looks at the general policy environment in which EU policy towards the Lomé countries has been made. It then looks at the trade-related directorates and their contribution and response to the phenomenon referred to here in shorthand as 'trade liberalisation'. This includes trends towards the removal or elimination of trade preferences and the ideology underlying this, which is reflected in and created by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organisation (GATT/WTO). The chapter provides an analysis of the political interests at stake in the trade liberalisation debate.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the European Union (EU) stands out as an important regional organization. This book focuses on the influence of the World Bank on the EU development cooperation policy, with special emphasis on the Lomé Convention. It explains the influence of trade liberalisation on EU trade preferences and provides a comparative analysis of the content and direction of the policies developed towards the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), the Mediterranean, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. It looks at the trade-related directorates and their contribution to the phenomenon referred as 'trade liberalisation'. This includes trends towards the removal or elimination of trade preferences and the ideology underlying this reflected in and created by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organisation (GATT/WTO). The book examines the role of the mass media because the media are supposed to play a unique role in encouraging political reactions to humanitarian emergencies. The bolting on to development 'policy' of other continents, and the separate existence of a badly run Humanitarian Office (ECHO), brought the lie to the Maastricht Treaty telling us that the EU really had a coherent development policy. The Third World in general, and Africa in particular, are becoming important components in the EU's efforts to develop into a significant international player. The Cotonou Agreement proposes to end the preferential trade margins accorded to non-least developed ACP states in favour of more liberal free trade agreements strongly shaped by the WTO agenda.
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on concepts discussed in this book. The book assesses the record of development cooperation from the Treaty of Rome to Lomé, and beyond to Cotonou. It also assesses the implications of the trends identified for future development policy and to conceptualise the role of European Union (EU) external action in the realm of development. Development policy constitutes a key aspect of EU foreign policy. The negotiations for future African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)-EU trade aim to create free trade areas between the European Community (EC) and sub-regions of the ACP group. The Cotonou Agreement proposes finally to end the preferential trade margins accorded to non-least developed ACP states in favour of more liberal free trade agreements strongly shaped by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agenda.
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the influence of the World Bank on European Union (EU) development cooperation policy, with special emphasis on the Lomé Convention. It assumes that there are a number of causal factors in the disappearance of a unique European development policy, which was regularly referred to as a positive model for such a policy. The book explains the influence of trade liberalisation on EU trade preferences. It seeks to identify the main determinants of EU trade policy in relation to the developing countries. The book provides a comparative analysis of the content and direction of the policies developed towards the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), the Mediterranean, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. It looks into the bureaucratic politics of EU aid.