The ECOWAS–EU Economic Partnership Agreement: Towards Inclusive Development? Theophilus Acheampong and Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin Contents 1 Introduction and Background ............................................................... 214 2 West Africa-EU Trade Narrative ............................................................ 218 2.1 Generalized Scheme of Preferences ................................................... 221 2.2 EPAs/iEPAs ........................................................................... 221 3 Literature Review ............................................................................ 222 3.1 International Trade and Development ................................................ 222 3.2 Empirical Evidence on Trade Liberalization and Development ..................... 224 3.2.1 Trade Liberalization and Economic Growth ................................. 225 3.2.2 Trade Liberalization and Development ....................................... 226 3.2.3 Sector Experiences ............................................................ 227 4 The EPAs and Inclusive Development in West Africa ..................................... 227 4.1 EPAs and West African Trade ........................................................ 227 4.1.1 Are the EPAs Anti-development? ............................................ 228 4.1.2 Local Manufacturing and Local Markets Issues .............................. 229 4.1.3 Some Opportunities ........................................................... 230 4.2 Socio-Environmental Perspective and the EPA Development Programme .......... 232 5 Conclusions and Policy Recommendations ................................................. 233 Appendix: West Africa Statistics ................................................................ 236 References ....................................................................................... 237 Abstract The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) continues to court contro- versy. Many ECOWAS countries together with other civil society organizations have expressed concern over the agreement and continue to campaign against it on grounds of possible damage to West Africa’s fragile economies from opening T. Acheampong Department of Economics, Aberdeen Centre for Research in Energy Economics and Finance (ACREEF), University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK e-mail: theo.acheampong@abdn.ac.uk E. A. Ortsin (*) Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana e-mail: eaortsin@st.ug.edu.gh © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 D. Seck (ed.), The External Sector of Africa’s Economy, Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97913-7_10 213