With only six weeks to go until the deadline, not one of the 76 African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries has signed the EU's proposed Free Trade Agreements. This is despite Europe threatening to place tariffs on exports from these countries if they do not sign by 31 December. Last week, President Wade of Senegal said that relations between the EU and Africa are 'in crisis', and Minister Kituyi of Kenya said that his region will not be 'arm-twisted' into signing. Trade Ministers across Africa have asked for more time for negotiations, and the Caribbean may soon join them.

European Ministers met on 20 November to decide what to do with countries that don't sign, but they postponed this decision until they next meet, on 10 December. This leaves politicians across Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific with a tough call: to accept that they will either have to sign, or face losing their main export sectors; or hope that Europe extends the negotiating deadline. This week, five countries in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi) may sign in a bid to save their export sectors.

As the EU/Africa Summit approaches, these debates are likely to intensity. Oxfam and others are working hard to persuade Europe to allow negotiations to continue until an agreement is reached that responds to the pressing development needs of these countries. This is the first real test of the Prime Minister's personal commitment to make trade fair.

To read more, see the excellent piece in this week's Guardian newspaper: 'The EU is bullying the world's poor to rush into a dubious trade deal'
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/columnist/story/0,,2213172,00.html