European Commission Directorate-General for Trade

Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA)

The EU is currently negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement with Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar and the Seychelles.

In August 2009, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Zimbabwe signed an interim Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU.

Trade picture

• Eastern and Southern Africa is a diverse Economic Partnership Agreement group, including Indian Ocean islands (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles), countries from the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan) and some countries of Southern Africa (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Regional integration remains a challenge for this region.
• All the countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa region, except Eritrea, are members of the WTO.
• Exports to the EU from the Eastern and Southern Africa region are dominated by sugar, coffee, fish, tobacco, copper and crude oil.
• Imports from the EU to the Eastern and Southern Africa region are dominated by machinery and mechanical appliances, equipment, vehicles and pharmaceutical products.

EU and Eastern and Southern Africa

The interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe  – signed in August 2009 – includes the elimination of duties and quotas for imports from these countries to the EU as well as a gradual liberalization of EU exports to these countries. The agreement also covers rules of origin, fisheries, trade defense, development cooperation provisions and mechanisms for settling disputes.

More information on the interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe fr

The ongoing negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Eastern and Southern Africa as a whole include areas such as rules and commitments on services and investment, sustainable development and competition, and trade facilitation. It also includes co-operation on technical barriers to trade. It also includes co-operation on technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.

Economic Partnership Agreements set out to help African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to improve their trade.

Trading with Eastern and Southern Africa

• Importing into the EU from Eastern and Southern Africa
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from Eastern and Southern Africa
• Exporting from the EU to Eastern and Southern Africa 
  • Export rules on food and plant health
  • Trade defence measures in force in Eastern and Southern Africa
• The EU is present on the ground in Eastern and Southern Africa (EU Delegations in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Madagascar )
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations  with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
• African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

• Djibouti, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and Madagascar are WTO members. Ethiopia, Sudan, Comoros and the Seychelles have observer status in the WTO.