WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/L/552
5 December 2003
(03-6494)
General Council
15, 16 and 18 December 2003Original:  English
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – THE ACP-EC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
Report of the Parties to the Agreement under the Decision of 14 November 2001
The following communication, dated 5 December 2003, has been received from the
Permanent Delegation of the European Commission.
_______________
1. Introduction
1. On 14 November 20011, the Ministerial Conference decided to grant a waiver for the ACP-
EU Partnership Agreement (known as the Cotonou Agr eement) including the terms and conditions set
out thereunder.  The waiver applies to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article I of the GeneralAgreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to the extent necessary to permit the European Communities
to provide preferential tariff treatment for products originating in ACP States as required by
Article 36.3, Annex V and its Protocols of the AC P-EU Partnership Agreement, without being
required to extend the same preferential treatment to like products of any other WTO Member.  This
waiver expires on 31 December 2007.
2. In accordance with paragraph 5 of the waiver Decision, the Parties to the Convention
herewith provide a report on the implementation of the preferential treatment covered by the waiver.
This report covers the year 2002.
2. Economic and trade co-operation under the Cotonou Agreement
3. Trade development is one of the objectives of the Cotonou Agreement.  Article 34 states that
“economic and trade co-operation shall aim at fostering the smooth and gradual integration of the
ACP States in to the world economy, with due regard for their political choices and development
priorities, thereby promoting their sustainable deve lopment and contributing to poverty eradication in
the ACP countries”.
4. To fulfil these objectives, the Parties to the Agreement agreed to conclude new WTO-
compatible trading arrangements, under which they w ill progressively remove barriers to trade and
enhance co-operation in all areas relevant to trade.  The negotiations of these Economic Partnership
Agreements commenced on 27 September 2002 and new trading arrangements will come into force
by 1 January 2008 at the latest.
                                                     
1 Document WT/MIN(01)/15 of 14 November 2001.WT/L/552
Page 2
5. Meanwhile, Article 36 of the Cotonou Agreement maintains the non-reciprocal trade
preferences that were applied under the Fourth Lomé Convention.  This preferential access into the
EU market for products originating from ACP states  is laid down in Article 1 of Annex V to the
Agreement and in Declaration XXII.  In addition to the Declaration which applies for all ACP states,
the product protocols on beef and veal and sugar establish the preferential treatment for a list of
specific ACP countries.
6. Of the 78 ACP contracting parties of the Cotonou Agreement, 55 are presently members of
the WTO.  Moreover, Bahamas, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Samoa, Sao Tome and
Principe, Seychelles, Sudan, Tonga and Vanuatu are observer governments to the WTO.  Forty of the
ACP States are included in the UN list of 49 Least Developed countries.  See annex 1 for details.
3. Trade performance under the Cotonou Agreement
7. Total trade between the EU and the ACP fell slightly (-1%) in 2002 to €58.3 billion due to a
decrease by 13% of ACP petroleum exports to the EU . This followed a record 26% rise in trade in
2000, and a 8% increase in 2001.
 8. The ACP continue to essentially export commodities (62%), with the share of semi-processed
products at 17% and that of processed products , ma inly clothing and prepared foodstuffs, at 21%.
 Exports of petrol (28%), diamonds (9%), cocoa (8%), fish (6%), wood (4%), sugar (3%), aluminium
and coffee represent more than 60% of total exports.
9. There was little change in EU exports to the ACP in 2002, which increased from €27.6 billion
to €27.8 billion. In general, Community exports to the ACP have picked up in the second part of the
last decade, following a period of decline. 26% of  EU exports to the ACP consist of machinery and
mechanical equipment (26%), vehicles, aircraft and other transport equipment (24%) and chemical
products (10%).
10. Relative imports from ACP countries were high er into the EU than into comparable import
markets in the US, Canada and Japan in 2002, mainly because of the preferential access granted under
the Cotonou Agreement.  The EU is the main trade partner for the ACP accounting for 51% of
QUAD-ACP trade.  If petrol is excluded, the EU share of ACP exports to QUAD countries is 65%.
4. Fulfilment of the terms and conditions attached to the waiver
11. The Parties to the Convention have met the terms and conditions attached to the waiver.  Any
changes in the preferential treatment for products originating in the ACP States will continue to be
notified to the WTO.  Furthermore, the parties to the Agreement wish to assure the other WTO
Members that they will, upon request, promptly enter into consultations with any interested WTO
Member with respect to any difficulty or matter that may arise as a result of the waiver.WT/L/552
Page 3
ANNEX 1
Present ACP States Parties to the Cotonou Agreement (78)
Angola  * Ghana * Saint Kitts and Nevis *
Antigua and Barbuda * Grenada * Saint Lucia *
Bahamas Guinea  * Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines *
Barbados * Guinea-Bissau  * Samoa
Belize * Equatorial Guinea Sao Tomé & Principe
Benin  * Guyana * Senegal *
Botswana * Haiti  * Seychelles
Burkina Faso  * Jamaica * Sierra Leone *
Burundi  * Kenya * Solomon Islands*
Cameroon * Kiribati Somalia
Cape Verde Lesotho  * South Africa *1
Central African Republic  * Liberia Sudan
Chad  * Madagascar * Suriname *
Comoros Malawi  * Swaziland *
Congo (Brazzaville) * Mali  * Tanzania  *
Congo (Democratic Republicof) *Marshall Islands Togo  *
Cook Islands Mauritania  * Tonga
Côte d’Ivoire * Mauritius * Trinidad and Tobago *
Djibouti * Mozambique  * Tuvalu
Dominica * Namibia * Uganda  *
Dominican Republic * Nauru Vanuatu
Eritrea Niue Zambia  *
Ethiopia Niger  * Zimbabwe *
Federated States of
MicronesiaNigeria *
Fiji * Palau East Timor
Gabon * Papua New Guinea *
Gambia  * Rwanda  *
_______________
* ACP States currently members of the WTO (55).
1 The trade provisions of the Lomé Convention do not apply to South Africa.
Least Developed Countries (UN list) in italics (40).WT/L/552
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Source:EUROSTAT.
WT/L/552
Page 5
Source:  EUROSTAT.        Evolution of im ports into EU  (1)
Notes:
 (1) These fi gures re presents EU9 in 1976 , EU10 from 1980 to 1985 , EU12 from 1990 to 1995
 (2) These fi gures re presents ex ports and im ports of the 76 states that were contractin g parties to the
     Cotonou Convention  , althou gh in earlier years some of them have not benefitted from Cotonou
      trade provisions
 (3) Afghanistan , Bhutan , Brunei , Ban gladesh , Burma , Cambod gia , China , India , Indonesia ,
     Kam putchea , Laos , Macao , Mala ysia , Maldives , Mon golia , M yanmar , Ne pal , North Korea ,
     Pakistan , Phili ppines , Sin gapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Taiwan , Thailand , Vietnam du Nord , 
     Vietnam
 (4) Argentina , Bermuda , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Ecuador , El Salvador , 
     Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico , Nicara gua , Panama , Para guay , Peru , Uru guay , Venezuela
 
 (5) Algeria , E gypt , Jordan , Lebanon , Morocco , S yria , Tunisia , Turke yall products
020406080100120140160180200220
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000Ecu bn
ACP (2) Asia (3)
Latin-America (4) Mediterranean (5)agricultural products
01020304050607080
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000Ecu bn
ACP (2) Asia (3)
Latin-America (4) Mediterranean (5)WT/L/552
Page 6
Source:  EUROSTAT.Notes:
 (1) These figures represents EU9 in 1976 , EU10 from 1980 to 1985 , EU12 from 1990 to 1995
 (2) These fi gures represents exports and imports of the 69 states that were contractin g parties to the
     Lomé Convention in 1992 , although in earlier years some of them have not benefitted from Lomé 
      trade provisions
 (3) Afghanistan , Bhutan , Brunei , Bangladesh , Burma , Cambodgia , China , India , Indonesia ,
     Kamputchea , Laos , Macao , Malaysia , Maldives , Mongolia , Myanmar , Nepal , North Korea ,     Pakistan , Philippines , Singapore , South Korea , Sri Lanka , Taiwan , Thailand , Vietnam du Nord 
     Vietnam
 (4) Argentina , Bermuda , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Ecuador , El Salvado r
     Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico , Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , Uruguay , Venezuela 
 (5) Algeria , Egypt , Jordan , Lebanon , Morocco , Syria , Tunisia , Turke y Evolution of exports from EU (1)
020406080100120140
1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002
ACP(2) Asie(3) Latin-America(4) Mediterranean(5)WT/L/552
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WT/L/552
Page 8
Source:  EUROSTAT.
WT/L/552
Page 9
share of imports from ACP into EU
source: Comext EUROSTAT0%1%2%3%4%5%6%7%8%
1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002WT/L/552
Page 10
Source:  EUROSTAT.Main products imported from ACP
Cocoa
8%
Sugar
3%Fish
6%other
39%
Diamonds
9%
Wood
4%Aluminium
2%Tobacco
2%Petroleum
28%WT/L/552
Page 11
IMPORTS  IN    EU15 from   ACP   countries
1000 ecu
partner 1991 1995 1998 2001% ACP in 
2001% agric  
prod in  
2001 2002% ACP 
in 2002% agric  
prod in  
2002
ACP 19.278.953 19.893.153 21.334.258 31.234.089 100% 27% 30.514.627 100% 29%
Nigeria 4.571.988    3.442.656    2.874.474    6.458.867    21% 5% 5.001.203    16% 7%
Ivory Coast 1.617.181    2.067.832    2.269.497    2.046.640    7% 73% 2.601.474    9% 72%
Angola 832.344    561.422    587.570    1.945.006    6% 2% 2.264.648    7% 2%
Botswana 82.156    62.844    145.680    1.369.544    4% 5% 1.563.585    5% 3%
Cameroon 1.158.659    1.174.847    1.422.900    1.736.830    6% 22% 1.563.410    5% 23%
Mauritius 780.507    1.020.376    1.098.648    1.282.232    4% 30% 1.342.027    4% 30%
Congo (Dem. R963.360    842.003    780.207    959.731    3% 2% 1.238.936    4% 1%
Ghana 717.203    839.245    1.211.090    1.067.573    3% 43% 1.114.537    4% 53%
Liberia 249.269    637.422    422.753    654.685    2% 0% 872.779    3% 0%
Kenya 564.846    646.738    783.383    907.363    3% 83% 848.186    3% 89%
Antigua,Barb 12.805    8.940    9.786    351.556    1% 1% 787.607    3% 0%
Equat.Guinea 31.192    29.070    204.119    759.510    2% 0% 743.569    2% 0%
Namibia 135.450    370.144    381.648    883.206    3% 40% 738.175    2% 41%
Madagascar 167.825    346.198    475.667    606.635    2% 44% 616.448    2% 62%
Zimbabwe 643.915    638.890    691.366    777.969    2% 63% 610.850    2% 68%
Gabon 1.227.185    798.703    834.816    1.171.494    4% 2% 607.034    2% 3%
Mozambique 66.754    80.663    110.236    530.992    2% 18% 582.948    2% 16%
Bahamas 215.773    231.886    321.685    598.297    2% 56% 530.326    2% 61%
Jamaica 285.933    368.086    518.827    560.263    2% 25% 507.489    2% 27%
Congo 547.259    717.988    387.863    409.992    1% 3% 503.752    2% 4%
Trinidad,Tob 174.478    227.442    376.795    487.143    2% 7% 499.549    2% 7%
Guinea 308.387    310.255    433.467    579.970    2% 5% 476.064    2% 6%
Tanzania 179.706    202.279    249.786    404.334    1% 60% 430.004    1% 57%
Senegal 381.845    369.727    417.077    442.071    1% 74% 405.664    1% 82%
Mauritania 255.185    257.213    318.854    372.177    1% 33% 372.174    1% 32%
Dominican R. 119.441    223.174    252.237    317.800    1% 40% 349.040    1% 44%
Sudan 103.386    172.097    240.189    303.637    1% 26% 264.577    1% 33%
Uganda 130.792    356.288    271.687    244.158    1% 88% 260.679    1% 84%
Papua N.G. 198.542    405.505    328.137    285.495    1% 69% 260.569    1% 90%
Seychelles 52.262    17.292    84.955    188.076    1% 92% 258.171    1% 87%
Ethiopia 119.617    229.652    279.666    166.304    1% 48% 189.981    1% 57%
Guyana 119.290    146.026    158.720    202.784    1% 73% 182.097    1% 73%
Malawi 183.136    141.036    170.875    194.791    1% 96% 176.849    1% 99%
Centr.Africa 90.864    112.759    179.203    152.868    0% 2% 176.248    1% 14%
St Vincent 48.186    44.620    69.238    153.328    0% 15% 172.238    1% 2%
Surinam 130.910    136.647    166.057    147.293    0% 34% 129.149    0% 87%
Zambia 255.552    181.619    219.694    164.664    1% 33% 115.390    0% 52%
Swaziland 126.363    127.186    148.636    148.691    0% 91% 112.307    0% 38%WT/L/552
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IMPORTS  IN    EU15 from   ACP   countries
1000 ecu
partner 1991 1995 1998 2001% ACP in 
2001% agric  
prod in  
2001 2002% ACP 
in 2002% agric  
prod in  
2002
Fiji 120.015    112.259    109.941    104.319    0% 96% 100.778    0% 0%
Barbados 32.747    33.938    54.418    88.964    0% 41% 92.470    0% 97%
Sierra Leone 168.983    94.385    82.967    38.706    0% 7% 85.180    0% 7%
Niger 182.114    120.883    152.535    131.758    0% 0% 82.994    0% 0%
Marshall Is.             75.712    0% 0% 68.227    0% 88%
Togo 105.504    76.257    44.890    57.709    0% 59% 68.043    0% 68%
Mali 60.984    66.666    118.124    49.300    0% 12% 65.751    0% 9%
Benin 38.744    57.968    55.875    65.199    0% 32% 58.065    0% 28%
Belize 33.343    80.874    97.451    82.468    0% 88% 57.066    0% 50%
Burkina Faso 73.939    52.396    83.469    66.846    0% 14% 52.621    0% 22%
Chad 50.465    80.026    82.245    57.652    0% 13% 45.521    0% 8%
St Lucia 70.928    58.854    57.540    48.229    0% 53% 38.515    0% 95%
Dominica 39.444    21.612    27.616    25.627    0% 56% 27.645    0% 55%
Cape Verde 4.089    7.418    10.829    11.986    0% 2% 24.057    0% 1%
Burundi 70.665    144.539    57.835    20.645    0% 85% 23.903    0% 94%
Rwanda 106.940    30.748    64.117    51.232    0% 39% 21.779    0% 78%
Comoros 13.114    5.692    7.375    20.667    0% 87% 18.896    0% 76%
Gambia 93.595    103.419    108.803    20.883    0% 92% 18.650    0% 93%
Lesotho 20.084    20.153    19.880    16.857    0% 23% 14.447    0% 58%
Grenada 10.323    6.742    9.943    27.668    0% 26% 14.196    0% 86%
St.Ch.&Nevis 9.330    10.681    11.280    14.008    0% 82% 13.780    0% 80%
Haiti 27.478    28.855    29.483    16.582    0% 67% 10.310    0% 14%
Guinea Biss. 6.720    15.686    10.451    4.716    0% 42% 7.523    0% 53%
Eritrea     1.570    17.419    6.704    0% 36% 6.308    0% 30%
S.Tome,Princ 3.030    3.830    9.063    8.003    0% 64% 6.286    0% 87%
Djibouti 37.388    49.812    47.784    61.527    0% 1% 4.475    0% 10%
Vanuatu 11.324    7.411    15.887    13.677    0% 18% 4.284    0% 89%
Somalia 16.714    18.731    9.454    3.053    0% 26% 2.688    0% 25%
West. Samoa 332    972    4.030    2.226    0% 77% 2.647    0% 6%
Kiribati 1.248    106    1.537    729    0% 12% 2.440    0% 48%
Nauru             146    0% 9% 1.359    0% 1%
Tonga 603    821    216    736    0% 21% 1.251    0% 2%
Solomon Is. 19.032    32.926    34.183    5.041    0% 82% 1.181    0% 85%
Tuvalu 153    124    98    407    0% 14% 961    0% 11%
Fed.Micron.             74    0% 0% 593    0% 0%
Palau 64    0% 100% 8    0% 100%
source : EUROSTATWT/L/552
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__________QUAD   Trade   with  ACP  countries   ;  2002 imports from ACP    ;   million EURO
TOTAL EU15 CANADA JAPAN UNITED STATES
Group of 
ProductsQUAD mio € % 
QUAD% TOTAL 
(01-99)mio € % 
QUAD% TOTAL 
(01-99)mio € % 
QUAD% TOTAL 
(01-99)mio € % QUAD % TOTAL 
(01-99)
 Primary 
commodities  
(01-27) 38.130 17.918 47% 59% 529 1% 48% 2.515 7% 88% 17.168 45% 69%
 from which Fuels 
(27)25.223 8.261 33% 27% 330 1% 30% 1.663 7% 58% 14.969 59% 60%
 Manufacture
d goods       
(28-99) 19.665 11.039 56% 36% 581 3% 52% 354 2% 12% 7.692 39% 31%
 from which 
Textiles and 
clothin g  (50-63 )5.264 1.261 24% 4% 46 1% 4% 18 0% 1% 3.940 75% 16%
TOTAL       
(01-99) 59.361 30.522 51% 100% 1.110 2% 100% 2.869 5% 100% 24.860 42% 100%
TOTAL      
excl Fuels 34.138 22.261 65% 73% 781 2% 70% 1.206 4% 42% 9.891 29% 40%
Source EUROSTAT : COMEXT and COMTRADE
Imports  :  QUAD  Trade  with ACP  in 2002   (mio euro)
05000100001500020000250003000035000
Canada USA Japan EU
Primary commodities excl fuel (01-26) 
Fuels (27) 
Manufactured goods (28-99) 
TOTAL (01-99)