Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-05-Speech-2-132"
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"en.19991005.8.2-132"2
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"Mr President, the first thing I want to say is how much I welcome what I hope will be the successful conclusion of this landmark agreement, and I congratulate the rapporteur for her tireless work to get the best possible outcome.
This agreement is one of the first free-trade agreements with a developing country and so it sets a number of important precedents. One of the most significant of these is the fact that it has broadened from a focus on trade alone to a wider emphasis on development cooperation. I welcome that, but there are also other precedents it might set which could be less positive, in particular its impact on other countries in the region.
One key area of concern for these Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries is the loss of customs revenue, as Mrs Kinnock has said. At the moment these countries rely heavily on customs duties which are collected from European imports and shared out between the customs union members. We are talking about significant amounts of money here. Swaziland, for example, depends on these for up to 40% of all government revenues. But, with the free trade agreement in place, products arriving from the EU into South Africa duty-free will also enter the other customs union countries duty-free – there are no tariff barriers between them. So there is a very real concern among SACU countries that these products will undercut local goods in their own markets. While that might make products cheaper for southern African consumers, the effects on local industries could be extremely severe.
There is consequently very real concern that the pace and extent of the elimination of tariffs on imports from the EU will exceed the ability of industries in the region to improve their efficiency. This points to the importance of getting the timing and the phasing of free-trade arrangements right, in order to avoid negative repercussions on other countries in the region.
Although South Africa’s neighbours have been promised compensation for the cost to them of adjustments in South Africa, it is far from clear how this will work in practice. The European Parliament will, I am sure, continue to monitor this situation to assess what effects are being felt by other countries, and to do all in its power to ensure that appropriate compensation is forthcoming as necessary.
The agreement also has wider implications for the post-Lomé negotiations, where the Commission and Council are strongly in favour of regional free-trade arrangements to replace Lomé-style preferences. I welcome Mrs Kinnock’s recommendation that we do not see this agreement as a model for ACP countries.
To conclude, while I welcome the fact that South Africa has won a share of significant European markets, I hope we can also learn from the lessons of this agreement and ensure that in future the timing, phasing and scope of free-trade arrangements will reflect more closely the different needs of the participating countries."@en1
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