EU makes an offer

[NewsWhore]

The European Union has made an offer to free up the access to goods produced in the ACP nations of the Caribbean beginning 1 January 2008. The offer does not include sugar or rice exports. According to Hoy, the offer does not come with the possibility that the Dominican Republic gain access to t he European sugar market in the future. The ACP nations are part of the African, Caribbean and Pacific nations that are favored by the European Union as trading partners through the Cotonou accord. The European proposal looks at a transition period extending to 2015 for sugar, and includes access to a limited market or one with quotas for the countries that do not form part of the protocol (such as is the case of the Dominican Republic) and that do not now receive any benefits. Only the poorest nations have free access to the European market at this time. According to the proposal, the first phase will be from 1 January 2008 until 30 September 2009, during which the sugar protocol will continue to be enforced, but there will be an initial access to the EU sugar market for those ACP nations that are not a part of the protocol (the DR). The second phase will begin in October 2009 and go until 30 September of 2015, and will allow free access to the EU sugar market subject to automatic controls for volume from the Caribbean.

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