Government has given the strongest indication yet, that it will need to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements. The Trade and Industry Minister Hanna Tetteh told investors at the Economist Conference that 40% of Ghana’s export could be lost if the country fails to sign the new trade agreement with Europe. She explains that Ghana finds itself in a difficult situation which makes it difficult for government not to sign the EPAs. Ms Tetteh said whilst trade unions have criticized the terms and conditions that come with the EPAs, “not many people are ready to manage the sacrifices in the short term.” Ghana had asked for time to sign the EPAs along with ECOWAS this month, but ECOWAS has come out to say that it cannot meet the deadline. This means Ghana will have to go solo or have the European Union impose tariffs on its exports. With the strong campaign against the EPAs, Ms Tetteh believes exporting companies also need to speak out so that the public gets a clearer picture of the impact of adopting the EPA. The Trade Minister urged companies which need access to the European market to speak “publicly” on the issue “that this is something that you need for your business.” She said the economy now requires the agreement to sustain jobs in non-traditional export industry as well as cocoa processing. The EPAs are a new set of trade agreements which will allow Europe to export about 80 percent of its products on duty and quota-free basis much the same way as Ghana will sell all its products to Europe duty and quota-free. Play attached audio for voice of Hannah Tetteh Source: Joy Business/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana