GEP Research Paper 03/30
A Grim REPA?
D. Greenaway and C. R. Milner
Abstract
For a quarter of a century African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have benefited from unreciprocated preferential access to the European Union (EU) market under a succession of Lomé Arrangements. Sunset provisions now apply to these concessions and after 2007 unreciprocated preferences will end. The EU is proposing that a network of Regional Economic Partnership Agreements (REPAs) replace Lomé. This is a new form of regional trading arrangement for both the EU and ACP countries. In this paper we develop an analytical framework for evaluating the impact effects of a REPA and apply this to estimate costs and benefits in the CARICOM region. Our results suggest that a REPA would be inferior on welfare grounds to either extended reciprocity with the EU and US, or broader multilateral liberalisation.
Issued in August 2003.
This paper is available in PDF format.