WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/636 
29 November 2005 
 (05-5661) 
General Council 
1-2 December 2005 Original:   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 28 N ovember 2005, has been received from the 
Permanent Delegation of the European Commission.  
_______________ 
 
 
1. Introduction 
1. On 14 November 2001
1, the Ministerial Conference decided to grant a waiver for the ACP-
EU Partnership Agreement (known as the Cotonou Ag reement) including the terms and conditions set 
out thereunder.  The waiver applies to the provisi ons of paragraph 1 of Ar ticle I of the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to the ex tent necessary to permit the European Communities 
to provide preferential tariff treatment for pr oducts originating in ACP States as required by 
Article 36.3, Annex V and its Protocols of the ACP-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 wa iver Decision, the Parties to the Convention 
herewith provide a report on the implementation of th e preferential treatment covered by the waiver.  
This report covers the year 2004.  
2. Economic and trade co-operati on 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 foster ing the smooth and gradual integration of the 
ACP States in to the world economy, with due re gard 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  will progressively remove barriers to trade and 
enhance co-operation in all areas relevant to trad e.  The negotiations of these Economic Partnership 
Agreements commenced on 27 September 2002 with the ACP Group as a whole. Negotiations with 
six ACP regions have now also started and the ne w trading arrangements will come into force by 
1 January 2008 at the latest.  
                                                     
 
1 Document WT/MIN(01)/15 of 14 November 2001, subsequently circulated also as WT/L/436. WT/L/636 
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 stat es 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, Equa torial Guinea, Ethiopia, Samoa, Sao Tome and 
Principe, Seychelles, Sudan, Tonga and Vanuatu ar e 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 by 4.3% in 2004 to €54.9 billion. This followed 
an 8% increase in 2001, a 1% decrease in 2002 and an 8.5% decrease in 2003.  These figures are 
based on imports to the enlarged EU25 and so are no t directly comparable with previously reported 
figures based on the EU15.   8. The ACP continue to essentially export commodities (64%). Exports of petroleum products (28%), diamonds (11%), cocoa (9%), fish (6%), aluminium (5%), wood (5%), and sugar (3%) represent about two thirds of ACP exports. 
 
9. EU exports decreased by 4% to €26.5 billion.  EU exports to the ACP consist of machinery 
and mechanical equipment (27%), vehicles, airc raft and other transport equipment (17%) and 
chemical products (12%).  
10. Relative imports of on-petrol products from AC P countries were higher into the EU than into 
comparable import markets in the US, Canada and Japan in 2003, mainly b ecause of the preferential 
access granted under the Cotonou Agreement.  The EU  is the main trade partner for the ACP non- 
petrol products, its share of such ACP exports to QUAD countries being 65%. 
 
4. Fulfilment of the terms and condi tions attached to the waiver 
11. The Parties to the Convention have met the te rms 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 en ter 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/636 
 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 Republic of) * 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 Micronesia Nigeria *  
Fiji * Palau East Timor 
Gabon * Papua New Guinea *  Gambia  * Rwanda  *  
    
 
   _______________ 
 
* ACP States currently me mbers 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/636 
Page 4 
 
Source:   EUROSTAT. WT/L/636 
 Page 5 
 
 
         Evolution of im ports into EU  (1)
Notes:
 (1) These figures represents EU9 in 1976 , EU10 from 1980 to 1985 , EU12 from 1990 to 1995 , EU15 from 1996
 (2) These figures represents exports and imports of the 76 states that were contracting parties to the
     Cotonou Convention  , although in earlier years some of them have not benefitted from Cotonou      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 Salvador , 
     Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico , Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , Uruguay , Venezuela
 
 (5) Algeria , Egypt , Jordan , Lebanon , Morocco , Syria , Tunisia , Turkeyall products
020406080100120140160180200220
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004Euro bn
ACP (2) Asia (3)
Latin-America (4) Mediterranean (5)agricultural products
01020304050607080
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004Euro bn
ACP (2) Asia (3)
Latin-America (4) Mediterranean (5)
 
 
 WT/L/636 
Page 6  
 
 Notes:
 (1) These figures represents EU9 in 1976 , EU10 from 19 80 to 1985 , EU12 from 1990 to 1995 , EU15 from 1996
 (2) These figures represents exports and imports of the 69 states that were contracting 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 Salvador , 
     Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico , Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , Uruguay , Venezuela
 
 (5) Algeria , Egypt , Jordan , Lebanon , Morocco , Syria , Tunisia , Turkey Evolution of exports from EU (1)
020406080100120140160
1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
ACP(2) Asie(3) Latin-America(4) Mediterranean(5)in bn euro
 
Source:  EUROSTAT.  
  WT/L/636
 Page 7 
Trends in trade between EU (1)and develo pping countries 1976 - 2004
EU  imports   in bn ecu   
1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
ACP (2) 10.6 12.8 12.2 15.1 19.5 17.2 18.8 20.1 25.5 27.0 19.9 16.5 17.5 19.6 21.9 19.3 18.0 14.9 18.6 19.9 22.0 23.0 21.4 21.9 28.9 31.6 30.1 29.2 28.2
Asie (3) 8.7 9.9 10.2 13.0 16.0 17.1 18.6 20.5 24.8 25.9 27.4 33.1 40.5 47.7 50.7 62.5 65.9 74.1 84.0 96.5 107.4 128.8 144.8 159.9 214.4 209.7 209.2 222.4 258.7
Latin-America (4) 8.1 9.7 9.3 11.3 13.5 16.6 18.2 20.4 23.9 25.7 20.5 19.5 23.3 26.3 25.6 26.0 24.5 22.4 27.3 31.0 30.9 35.4 35.7 37.7 49.4 51.0 49.1 48.6 55.4
Mediterranean (5) 9.6 9.5 9.0 12.2 16.4 21.6 25.8 25.6 29.1 32.3 20.3 20.9 15.3 19.5 21.9 23.1 23.4 23.0 24.8 25.6 28.7 34.0 34.4 38.1 52.8 56.4 56.5 57.5 64.4
All developping 
countries 70.7 75.1 70.9 88.0 114.3 129.1 128.8 121.7 135.1 138.9 109.1 108.8 130.4 156.6 165.2 177.1 174.9 177.3 200.9 226.1 247.3 289.6 304.3 337.3 457.8 464.7 4 59.7 483.0 544.5
Extra-EU 157.7 173.2 178.3 217.7 269.9 303.8 321.5 328.5 382.1 399.7 336.8 340.5 387.8 447.4 461.6 494.1 487.1 487.4 538.6 545.3 581.0 672.6 710.5 779.8 1033.4 1 028.4 989.3 992.7 1093.4
EU  exports   in bn ecu   
1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
ACP (2) 10.0 13.0 13.2 12.3 16.4 19.7 19.3 16.6 17.2 18.3 16.5 14.1 15.5 16.7 18.3 16.0 17.4 16.5 14.9 17.6 18.7 20.4 22.2 21.8 26.6 27.7 27.8 27.1 25.9
Asie (3) 7.5 8.6 10.6 12.4 13.1 16.9 19.6 21.6 24.9 29.7 28.9 29.9 33.8 40.8 41.0 43.8 47.1 60.0 70.7 87.4 94.2 104.1 82.4 88.2 115.5 118.8 121.4 124.5 141.3
Latin-America (4) 7.3 8.7 8.9 10.1 11.7 14.9 13.1 11.3 13.4 13.5 14.4 13.8 13.6 15.6 15.6 18.0 20.4 24.3 29.2 32.7 36.2 45.6 49.6 46.1 55.1 58.2 50.2 44.1 47.7
Mediterranean (5) 12.3 14.4 13.9 16.4 19.8 27.9 25.6 27.3 29.3 29.8 24.4 22.0 19.8 22.4 25.8 26.3 26.5 32.2 31.1 36.9 42.6 49.8 52.9 52.0 65.2 57.1 61.1 64.5 75.9
All developping 
countries 50.9 62.1 66.5 69.7 83.4 112.0 117.1 116.4 123.4 121.7 110.2 104.7 147.4 143.8 148.4 156.2 170.4 196.0 211.3 255.3 280.9 323.5 319.7 317.2 396.4 415.5 42 0.0 427.2 473.2
Extra-EU 141.3 166.4 173.7 194.2 221.1 266.7 286.5 303.0 351.3 380.8 344.6 339.5 362.9 413.2 415.4 423.5 436.1 487.5 541.6 573.3 626.3 721.1 733.4 760.2 942.0 98 5.8 997.3 979.6 1066.7
Source EUROSTAT  
 
 WT/L/636 
Page 8  
 
  
 
 
 
 
Source:  EUROSTAT.   WT/L/636 
 Page 9 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 Source: Comext EUROSTATshare of imports from ACP into EU
0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 
76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04WT/L/636 
Page 10  
 
  
 
Main Products imported from ACP
2004   EU25   rev1
Petroleum
28%
Cocoa
9%Other
33%
Sugar
3%
Wood
5% Aluminium
5%Fish
6%Diamonds
11%
 
Source:  EUROSTAT. 
   
  WT/L/636
 Page 11 
 
IMPORTS IN EU from ACP countries  
 
1000 ecu  
  
partner 1991 1995 1998 2003 % ACP in 2003 % agric prod 
in  2003 2004 % ACP in 2004 % agric prod 
in 2004 
          
ACP 19,278,953 19,893,153 21,334,258 29,214,641 100% 31% 28,594,510 100% 30% 
Nigeria 4,571,988   3,442,656   2,874,474   6,164,050   21% 8% 5,220,861   18% 7% 
Ivory Coast 1,617,181   2,067,8 32   2,269,497   2,511,353   9% 81% 2,147,855   8% 77% 
Botswana 82,156   62,844   145,680   1,508,989   5% 2% 1,902,809   7% 2% 
Cameroon 1,158,659   1,174,847   1,422,900   1,715,917   6% 28% 1,638,178   6% 23% 
Mauritius 780,507   1,020,376   1,098,648   1,370,331   5% 26% 1,124,147   4% 33% 
Ghana 717,203   839,245   1,211,090   1,043,235   4% 62% 1,030,106   4% 75% 
Angola 832,344   561,422   587,570   1,137,268   4% 0% 973,478   3% 0% 
Namibia 135,450   370,144   381,648   565,850   2% 56% 905,968   3% 33% 
Kenya 564,846   646,738   783,383   797,010   3% 91% 868,198   3% 90% 
Mozambique 66,754   80,663   110,236   596,806   2% 15% 838,788   3% 10% 
Equat.Guinea 31,192   29,070   204,1 19   964,494   3% 0% 826,116   3% 1% 
Congo (Dem. 
Rep.) 963,360   842,003   780,207   724,882   2% 2% 731,764   3% 3% 
Tanzania 179,706   202,279  249,786   612,379   2% 38% 671,429   2% 33% 
Bahamas 215,773   231,886   321,685   525,622   2% 59% 623,169   2% 41% 
Jamaica 285,933   368,086   518,827   532,698   2% 26% 618,206   2% 18% 
Liberia 249,269   637,422   422,753   934,085   3% 0% 607,360   2% 0% 
Gabon 1,227,185   798,703   834,816   533,373   2% 3% 556,032   2% 3% 
Madagascar 167,825   346,198   475,667   506,952   2% 63% 548,989   2% 53% 
Trinidad,Tob 174,478   227,442   376,795   455,838   2% 7% 470,703   2% 7% 
Marshall Is.        218,759   1% 0% 450,964   2% 0% 
Zimbabwe 643,915   638,890   691,366   490,084   2% 67% 447,365   2% 54% 
Dominican R. 119,441   223,174   252,237   332,932   1% 45% 443,201   2% 44% 
Papua N.G. 198,542   405,505   328,137   351,565   1% 84% 368,225   1% 75% 
Guinea 308,387   310,255   433,467   365,015   1% 13% 364,756   1% 11%  
 WT/L/636 
Page 12 IMPORTS IN EU from ACP countries  
 
1000 ecu  
  
partner 1991 1995 1998 2003 % ACP in 2003 % agric prod 
in  2003 2004 % ACP in 2004 % agric prod 
in 2004 
Mauritania 255,185   257,2 13   318,854   320,349   1% 33% 343,520   1% 27% 
Senegal 381,845   369,727   417,077   337,854   1% 86% 319,835   1% 77% 
Congo 547,259   717,988   387,863   325,308   1% 5% 261,613   1% 7% 
Uganda 130,792   356,288   271,687   236,052   1% 89% 258,806   1% 86% 
Sudan 103,386   172,097   240,189   230,462   1% 34% 251,887   1% 39% 
Seychelles 52,262   17,292   84,955   227,613   1% 93% 230,562   1% 88% 
Chad 50,465   80,026   82,245   39,723   0% 9% 228,560   1% 3% 
St Vincent 48,186   44,62 0   69,238   150,623   1% 9% 219,706   1% 7% 
Ethiopia 119,617   229,652   279,666   182,413   1% 62% 192,110   1% 70% 
Guyana 119,290   146,026   158,720   181,832   1% 73% 188,142   1% 73% 
Zambia 255,552   181,619   219,694   126,405   0% 50% 177,850   1% 31% 
Surinam 130,910   136,647   166,057   178,082   1% 17% 170,464   1% 18% 
Malawi 183,136   141,036   170,875   190,145   1% 98% 149,944   1% 99% 
Swaziland 126,363   127,186   148,636   120,145   0% 88% 139,934   0% 91% 
Niger 182,114   120,883   152,535   77,809   0% 2% 120,902   0% 1% 
Sierra Leone 168,983   94,385   82,967   111,326   0% 8% 113,440   0% 8% 
Fiji 120,015   112,259   109,941   104,450   0% 98% 100,361   0% 98% 
Antigua,Barb 12,805   8,940   9,786   485,041   2% 2% 99,673   0% 1% 
Belize 33,343   80,874   97,451   89,362   0% 82% 80,908   0% 91% 
Centr.Africa 90,864   112, 759   179,203   91,529  0% 3% 75,719   0% 2% 
Togo 105,504   76,257   44,890   63,665   0% 61% 68,127   0% 73% 
Mali 60,984   66,666   118,124   45,332   0% 10% 55,181   0% 10% 
Barbados 32,747   33,938   54,418   46,123   0% 59% 53,063   0% 69% 
Burkina Faso 73,939   52,396   83,469   46,185   0% 30% 41,463   0% 48% 
Benin 38,744   57,968   55,875   37,182   0% 42% 32,141   0% 40% 
St Lucia 70,928   58,854   57,540   23,587   0% 94% 31,494   0% 93% 
Lesotho 20,084   20,153   19,880   5,716   0% 0% 23,935   0% 1% 
Rwanda 106,940   30,748   64,117   18,023   0% 62% 23,383   0% 87% 
Dominica 39,444   21,612   27,616   18,425   0% 49% 17,305   0% 57%  
  WT/L/636
 Page 13IMPORTS IN EU from ACP countries  
 
1000 ecu  
  
partner 1991 1995 1998 2003 % ACP in 2003 % agric prod 
in  2003 2004 % ACP in 2004 % agric prod 
in 2004 
Gambia 93,595   103,419   108,803  8,370   0% 86% 17,193   0% 73% 
Burundi 70,665   144,539   57,835   21,714   0% 87% 16,842   0% 88% 
Vanuatu 11,324   7,411   15,887   2,648   0% 95% 13,930   0% 79% 
Haiti 27,478   28,855   29,483   13,767   0% 56% 13,452   0% 45% 
Cape Verde 4,089   7,418   10,829   19,838   0% 6% 13,418   0% 9% 
St.Ch.&Nevis 9,330   10,68 1   11,280   9,831   0% 83% 10,208   0% 78% 
Grenada 10,323   6,742   9,943   13,464   0% 85% 8,339   0% 95% 
Comoros 13,114   5,692   7,375   19,550   0% 83% 8,002   0% 60% 
Kiribati 1,248   106   1,537   445   0% 26% 7,753   0% 8% 
Solomon Is. 19,032   32,926   34,183   1,655   0% 88% 7,343   0% 98% 
Djibouti 37,388   49,812   47,784   5,610   0% 8% 5,461   0% 10% 
S.Tome,Princ 3,030   3,830   9,063   7,395   0% 83% 4,967   0% 77% 
Guinea Biss. 6,720   15,686   10,451   7,818   0% 69% 4,876   0% 81% 
West. Samoa 332   972   4,030   2,543   0% 30% 3,414   0% 38% 
Eritrea    1,570   17,419   2,977   0% 31% 3,226   0% 24% 
Nauru        602   0% 0% 3,082   0% 1% 
Cook Is    501   0% 27% 2,599   0% 14% 
Somalia 16,714   18,731   9,454   1,343   0% 34% 718   0% 57% 
Tonga 603   821   216   3,233   0% 14% 555   0% 35% 
Tuvalu 153   124   98   975   0% 1% 220   0% 0% 
Niue    4   0% 37% 194   0% 0% 
Fed.Micron.        95   0% 0% 25   0% 0% 
Palau    15   0% 82% 2   0% 0% 
  
  
         
source : EUROSTAT         WT/L/636 
Page 14  
 
 QUAD   Trade   with  ACP  countries   ;  2003 im ports from ACP    ;   million EURO
TOTAL EU25 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)
 Primar y 
commodities  
(01-27) 43,604,215 18,366,411 42% 62% 840,438 2% 62% 2,254,734 5% 87% 22,142,631 51% 74%
 from which Fuels 
(27)30,539,207 8,460,673 28% 28% 623,349 2% 46% 1,451,406 5% 56% 20,003,779 66% 67%
 
Manufactured 
goods        19,854,709 11,388,887 57% 38% 512,949 3% 38% 345,316 2% 13% 7,607,557 38% 26%
 from which 
Textiles and 
clothing  (50-63)4,824,106 1,119,583 23% 4% 40,886 1% 3% 14,571 0% 1% 3,649,066 76% 12%
TOTAL       
(01-99) 63,458,924 29,755,298 47% 100% 1,353,388 2% 100% 2,600,050 4% 100% 29,750,188 47% 100%
TOTAL      
excl Fuels 32,919,717 21,294,626 65% 72% 730,039 2% 54% 1,148,643 3% 44% 9,746,409 30% 33%
Source COMTRADE and Comext
Imports  :  QUAD  Trade  with ACP  in 2003   (mio euro)
05000100001500020000250003000035000
Canada USA Japan EU
Primary commodities excl fuel (01-26) 
Fuels (27) 
Manufactured goods (28-99) 
TOTAL (01-99) 
 
 
 
__________