Standards and Market Access under EPAs: Implications and Way Forward for EAC

The economic costs associated with meeting high EU standards when a country has only a limited volume of production is particularly important for developing countries. This could come to constitute a barrier to trade. In this context, derogation provisions will need to be developed, which allow greater use to be made of non-originating raw materials, where this allows the unit costs of SPS-compliance in the countries concerned to be reduced to an economically viable level.