The Relevance of SPS in the ACP-EU Economic Partnership Agreements - What a development-friendly recognition of SPS measures within the EPA negotiations might look like

The Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have benefited from unilateral preferential access to EU markets under various trade agreements. However, since agricultural trade is increasingly determined by food safety and quality standards, one of the main concerns of ACP countries is their inability to benefit from their preferential status due to their lack of compliance with EU food quality requirements. Recently, this dilemma has become of particular interest because the unilateral preferential access provided under the Cotonou Agreement no longer conforms with World Trade Organization (WTO) law, instead reciprocal trade agreements, the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), should replace the former ones in 2008...