Building Productive Capacities for Trade Competitiveness: Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and UNIDO's Response

The current background paper has been prepared for the High-level Panel “Building productive capacities for trade competitiveness: Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)”, taking place during the 12th Session of the UNIDO General Conference. It intends to provide extensive background information and discussion material on the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements. It is divided into three parts: Part I includes an overview of the EUACP economic and trade cooperation including a situation analysis of the economic position of the ACP region.Special emphasis is put on the development component and the Aid for Tradeinitiatives. Part II entails a discussion of the opportunities and challenges of EPAs and proposes several adjustment measures on how to foster regional integration, strengthen productive and trade capacities and mitigate the negative effects from trade liberalization of industrial products. Part III presents UNIDO’s response to EPAs, including its approach and the experience of past industrial upgrading and modernization programmes.