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European trade demands angering Africa

BRUSSELS, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Africa is fed up with EU pressure and ready to walk out of trade talks, diplomatic papers show.

"The divergences between the EU and Africa seem to be intractable and not resolvable, despite 10 years of negotiations," reads one of the papers quoted by EUobserver.

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African trade officials are calling on Brussels to back up its rhetoric about development.

With an EU-Africa summit beginning Monday in Tripoli, Libya, the nations warn that if Europe does not back off from demands for immediate and drastic economic liberalization, Africa may abandon the process. Europe wants African tariffs on 80 percent of imports abolished.

The position paper and political declaration from trade ministers representing all five African regional economic communities are unusually forthright.

"There is great concern within Africa about the way the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations have been conducted and about the outcome of the negotiations so far," reads the paper.

"The critical issues that will allow Africa to move forward … still not yet been addressed."

The paper asserts that Africa has been opening markets, but Europe insists on promoting an economic model inappropriate for states at their level of development.

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