Map of EU economic partnership agreements with ACP countries

Currently, negotiations for seven regional EPAs have been concluded; five of these are with sub-Saharan African regional groups, one with the Caribbean region (Cariforum), and one with the Pacific region. Of the seven regional EPAs that have been negotiated, three are classed as ‘interim’, as they are more limited in scope than the others and were intended to be provisional in nature. However, this distinction has lost some of its relevance, as interim EPAs are applied for longer than expected. On the other hand, two of the other non-‘interim’ EPAs contain commitments – ‘rendez-vous clauses’ – for their future extension to trade in services, intellectual property, digital trade or sustainable development obligations, signalling that they are not ‘final’ either.