The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) on Monday said the interim trade agreement initialled between Ghana and the EU had helped end the uncertainty of Ghanaian exports to the EU market. It however, observed that, it was time policy makers took steps to address issues that affected the competitiveness of Ghanaian industries. Ghana clinched an interim trade agreement dubbed; a stepping stone' agreement, with the European Union (EU) before preferential trade terms expired at the end of last year. The accord included terms on market access and promoting cooperation. The interim deal would be signed in June. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Cletus Kosiba, Executive Director of AGI, said before the interim agreement most Ghanaian companies did not receive firm orders for goods from their trading partners in the EU, a development that threatened the livelihood of employees in those sectors. However, he stressed, that the interim agreement should mark the beginning of serious work by government and stakeholders to take appropriate steps and measures to put forward policies that would open opportunities and strengthen the position of the country's industries. Ghana and other members of ECOWAS will negotiate the full Economic Partnership Agreement, which is expected to come into force in 2009. Ghana's interim agreement provided for the immediate abolition of tariffs on virtually all exports to Europe, and for the gradual dismantling over 15 years of tariffs on 80 percent of imports from the 27-member bloc. The remaining 20 percent of imports are deemed "sensitive products" which will be subject to tariffs even after the 15-year transition period to promote economic development, food security, employment and government revenue generation. Mr Kosiba said it was important that government strengthened the sensitive areas that would be identified in view of poverty reduction and general welfare of the citizenry. According to him, a key point in all these was for government to look at other trading partners across the world, while special attention and policies were adopted to give Ghanaian companies headway in trade within the sub-region. Talks between nearly 80 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the EU on new EPA deals that will replace preferential trade terms have been dragging on for five years. Some of the countries feared their domestic industries might not be able to withstand competition from imports from the EU as, under the new deals, they would have to open their markets to the EU while exporting goods to the bloc on preferential terms.

Source: GNA