- ACP countries
Former colonies of European countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.
- Ad valorem tariff
Taxes or other types of tariffs imposed on a product based on its value and not on its volume, size, weight or other factors.
- Case studies
Research of a particular, special case. A case study always deals with concrete activities or individual persons.
- EBA
Abbreviation of ‘Everything but Arms’: all products with the exception of weapons. Under Everything but Arms all import tariffs in the EU (with the exception of weapons) were reduced to zero for about 50 least developed countries, without any obligations for these countries.
- EPA: Economic Partnership Agreements
Free trade agreements between the European Union and the ACP countries which deal with trade in goods, services (such as communication and transport), investments, government procurement and intellectual property rights according to the existing rules of the World Trade Organisation WTO.
- Free trade
Free trade refers to free traffic of goods and services between various countries, without having to pay import tariffs.
- Full EPA
An EPA on all areas of negotiation (trade in goods, services (such as communication and transport), investments, government procurement and intellectual property rights).
- IEPA
Interim EPA. The IEPAs are interim EPAs concerning goods, which were concluded between the ACP countries and the EU after the deadline of 1-1-2008 had expired. By concluding an IEPA, countries are obliged to conduct negotiations about a full EPA, a free trade agreement that concerns all areas (apart from goods, it also covers services, investments, etc.).
- Import tariff or import tax
A tax that is imposed on the export of goods and services. This makes imports more expensive and therefore less attractive. This type of tariff serves as a form of protection and is imposed to protect domestic industries and employment.
- Intellectual property rights
Intellectual property rights is a collective name for a number of rights that protect the intellectual owner of a work. Examples of cases that fall under intellectual property rights are: trade names (the name of enterprises cannot be used by others without asking for consent), brands (the logo of a company or of specific products is intellectual property as well), copyrights (everything that is written or designed falls under copyrights .This is why a manual, advertisement or brochure cannot be copied just like that), model and copy rights (this applies when a new look is designed for an existing product) and patents (in case of technical inventions which are protected by registration).
- Least Developed Country
The Least Developed Countries is a category of countries that are globally the most underdeveloped (or, in other words: which have the largest poverty rate). In total it concerns around 50 countries, of which most of them are situated in Africa (33), but in Asia as well (10), the Pacific Ocean (5) and the Caribbean (1). The LDCs are entitled to a preferential access of their products at the EU markets.
- Liberalization of the market
Liberalization of trade and money transfer payment particularly by a step-by-step reduction of import tariffs. Liberalization leads to competition between providers, and should lead to a greater freedom of choice for consumers.
- Local or regional market
Sales of products in the direct environment of the producer.
- Market segment
Market segment is a concept that is used in economics. The market segment of a product refers to how much percent of the market uses this product as compared to similar products. Imagine producer X sells a million MP3 players in the UK and owns 40% of the market; this means that the total sales of MP3 players in the UK would entail 2.5 million and that producer X has sold 1 million of that (40% of 2.5 million).
- Millennium development goals
Millennium development goals, sometimes called millennium goals, are eight concrete and measurable goals that have been drawn up by the United Nations in 2000. The millennium development goals have to see to it that poverty in the world will be reduced.
- Minimalization (of costs)
Reducing production costs by optimalization of the production process.
- Moratorium
In law a moratorium (originates from the Latin morari, to postpone) is a legal means, which makes it impossible for creditors to claim the income of the debtor in order to settle debts for a certain period of time. This may concern natural and legal persons, but countries as well.
- Non-traditional goods
Goods that have only recently been produced and possibly exported by a country. Antonym of ‘traditional goods’.
- Penalty
A penalty (from Latin: sanctio, from sancire = sanctify; enforce, to prohibit) is a fine that can be imposed on persons, groups, companies or countries, in order to punish a certain type of undesirable behaviour. A penalty can also be a fine or an economic boycott.
- Preferential access
Preferential treatment for products of one country as compared to products of another country. The ACP countries used to have preferential access to agricultural products in particular (sugar, bananas, mangos, etc.) on the markets of the European Union. This meant that they could pay lower import tariffs or no import tariffs at all, whereas higher import tariffs had to paid for the same products from non-ACP countries. This preferential treatment has been prohibited by World Trade Organisation WTO.
- Privatization
Transferring tasks from the public sector to the private sector. An example: supplying drinking water has been a government task for dozens of years. After its privatization the drinking water supply in the UK was carried out by various private organisations, such as Thames Water.
- Quotum system
A system which entitles producers to produce and sell a certain amount or a certain number of products. If a larger amount is produced, the ‘surplus’ gets fined or cannot be sold.
- Sensitive products
‘Sensitive products’ are products which can lead to great social-economic disturbances if they should be liberalized, because regional producers will not be able to compete with products from the EU on their domestic markets. Sensitive products are products which are produced in their home countries and their production is the most important source of income for the people. The EU has agreed to protect these ‘sensitive products’ to some extent against the undesirable consequences of liberalization.
- Services
A service in economy refers to non-physical goods. A good is physical, for example a vacuum cleaner or an apple, whereas a service is not physical. A service is a temporary thing and has to be provided at the moment of production. If you do not take your ticket to the cinema in time, your ticket will expire. In that case the service has already been provided. Services are various in nature. Several examples are: the treatment of a patient (doctor); drawing up an annual account (accountant); repairing a car (garage); repairing a water pipe (plumber), teaching pupils/students (teacher).
- Third World
The concept ‘Third World’ is a synonym for all existing development countries (situated in Africa, Asia and Latin-America), where great poverty dominates social life. The concept ‘Third World’ was used in 1952 for the first time by the French demographer Alfred Sauvy. He wanted to suggest a parallel between the world of the poor countries and the living conditions of the third class at the time of the French Ancien Régime, the group of civilians, craftsmen and farmers without privileges. According to others the concept was used for the first time in the 50s to indicate a third group of countries that did not belong to the ruling power blocks of that time, the NATO Alliance and the Warsaw pact.
- Tomato glut
Coinciding of the harvest in various regions, which leads to great demand and consequently, to lower prices.
- Traditional goods
Goods that have been produced and possibly exported by a country for years.
See also the Campaign Dictionary and the EPA reader in the ‘Download’ section.
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