With six months remaining before the deadline, Namibia stands between a hard place and a rock in the SADC and European Union negotiations for the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
The country has serious reservations with the preferential treatment extended to South Africa by the EU, and does not want an agreement that may be unfavourable to its regional integration plans.
“We do not want to be made to choose between the EU market and regional integration. If we had to choose we will choose the latter,” said Andrew Ndishishi, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Ndishishi said regional integration “provides long lasting solution to our problems and lasting development”.
But he is certain that SADC member states and the EU will have an agreement by December. “It is the commitment of everybody to make sure we do not have a gap from the Cotonou Agreement to the EPA,” said Ndishishi.
The EU Ambassador to Namibia, Elisabeth Pape, speaks of “firm intentions to conclude the EPA by the set up deadline”.
The two parties are yet to reach consensus on the points that will constitute the binding agreement. So far, the only 'agreement' in place is that there should be an EPA agreement by 1 January 2008.
Unlike with the current Cotonou Agreement, Namibia sells goods to Europe without the obligation of accepting European goods in its market. This will no longer be the case under the EPA agreements as trade is reciprocal.
SADC and the EU have been negotiating the EPA since July 2004 but have only managed to munch on two items on the agenda: the Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures as well as the Technical Barriers on Trade.
Suddenly in 2006 the two parties realised the urgency of the matter and thus began the negotiations “in earnest and good will on both parties”, says Pape, who emphasises that she is a mere observer to the negotiations.
Two negotiations rounds took place this year with the last one held in Walvis Bay last week where, again, nothing was agreed upon. “[We] did not agree but each party understood the other's point of departure,” said Ndishishi.
And that point of departure is no minor task. Namibia's position is to have a binding agreement on trading issues, excluding many other points such as the issues of e-commerce, competition, innovation and intellectual property, public procurement, environment and good governance referred to as New Generations.