Economic Partnership Agreement between ECOWAS-EU in Relation to the Principle of Economic Duress

Abstract

The nexus between international cooperation and economic relations among states cannot be over emphasized. It is, therefore, imperative for mechanisms to be put in place to safeguard the interest of all states irrespective of the region individual States belong. To break the monolith of the dominant powers of a party during negotiations with a weak party can create a new capacity and close the sharp developmental divide between poor and rich countries. This paper argued that the principle of economic duress be incorporated into WTO Law. This argument is based on the fact that the WTO regulates Regional Trade Area extensively, it has the apparatus to incorporate a principle of law to regulate the conduct of countries engaged in Regional Trade Area negotiations. As Cass suggested, it is important for the trading system to represent the viewpoint of the political community1and in the context of this paper, to ensure that weak members are legally protected from undue economic pressure. It is believed that members who signed the Economic Partnership Agreements were coerced by the EU, which relied on its dominant powers and influence over some members. West Africa for instance, depends on the EU for trade and financial aid. Due to the inadequacies of the WTO rules, there is a need to formulate a revised system of rules that comprehensively protects the developing countries. Negotiations resulting in reciprocal agreements will in the short and long terms harm the developmental objectives which the EU claims to pursue for ACP countries. The article explores the EU and Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries’ agreements, with a particular focus on article 49 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaty in the context of WTO’s legal capacity to regulate regional trade to answer the question if the WTO can incorporate the principle of economic duress to regulate bilateral trade negotiations to better protect the interests of all parties, especially the developing countries.