EU-Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)

The EU-ESA EPA makes it easier for people and businesses from the two regions to invest in and trade with each other, and to spur development across Eastern and Southern Africa. Learn how the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with five African states (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe) can benefit your trade.

At a glance

The Interim Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Eastern and Southern Africa (EU-ESA iEPA) was signed by Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and Madagascar in August 2009 and was applied provisionally in May 2012. In January 2013, the European Parliament gave its consent to the agreement. Comoros signed the agreement in July 2017 and started applying it in February 2019.

The EU – ESA iEPA includes:

the elimination of all EU duties and quotas for imports from ESA states;
the gradual opening up of ESA markets to EU exports;
detailed provisions on rules of origin, fisheries, and trade defence;
co-operation on technical barriers to trade, as well as standards on animal and plant health;
rules on development cooperation;
mechanisms for dispute settlement.

On 10 June 2026, the EU and four Eastern and Southern African (ESA4) States (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles) concluded negotiations to enhance the currently implemented Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The enhanced EPA is the first modern and comprehensive free trade agreement between the EU and partners in Sub-Saharan Africa as it covers all trade-related areas such as rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary standards, agriculture, trade and sustainable development, trade in services, investment liberalisation and digital trade, intellectual property rights, transparency in public procurement, and economic and development cooperation. The Agreement remains open to accession by other ESA States. The text is undergoing legal scrubbing and work will start for the signature and ratification procedures.

Benefiting countries

Comoros
Madagascar
Mauritius
Seychelles
Zimbabwe
The deal remains open to other countries from the region willing to join.

Trade picture

Total trade in goods between the EU and the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) countries amounted to €9.3 billion in 2024.
Exports from ESA to the EU are dominated by unmanufactured tobacco, coffee, prepared or preserved fish, crude oil, cut flowers and vanilla.
The main exports from the EU to the ESA region include machinery and appliances, transport equipment and chemicals.
More than half of total EU–ESA trade is with the ESA-5 countries (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe), which have been implementing an interim Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU since 2012; since the start of the agreement, EU trade with these countries has increased by 31%.
Trade in services between the EU and ESA-5 countries is also growing, reaching €4.5 billion in 2023, with EU imports worth €2.8 billion and exports €1.9 billion.

Asymmetric provisions in favour of ESA countries

The EU-ESA EPA foresees asymmetries provisions in favour of ESA countries, such as the exclusion of sensitive products from liberalisation, long liberalisation periods, flexible rules of origin, and special safeguards and measures for agriculture, food security and infant industry protection.

While EU markets were immediately and fully opened, ESA states open their markets partially to imports from the EU, taking full account of the differences in levels of development.

Tariffs

The EU grants 100% duty-free and quota-free access to all imports coming from ESA countries. The access to the EU market is permanent, full and free to all products.

ESA countries phase out duties partially, in line with their individual schedules annexed to the interim EPA, as follows:

Madagascar liberalises 81% of EU imports;
Mauritius 96%;
Seychelles 98%;
Zimbabwe 80%.

Sensitive products can be entirely excluded from liberalisation. Main exclusions from liberalisation include:

Madagascar: meat, milk and cheese, fisheries, vegetables, cereals, oils and fats, edible preparations, sugar, cocoa, beverages, tobacco, chemicals, plastic and paper articles, textiles, metal articles, furniture;
Mauritius: live animals and meat, edible products of animal origin, fats, edible preparations and beverages, chemicals, plastics and rubber articles of leather and fur skins, iron & steel and consumer electronic goods;
Seychelles: meat, fisheries, beverages, tobacco, leather articles, glass and ceramics products and vehicles;
Zimbabwe: products of animal origin, cereals, beverages paper, plastics and rubber, textiles and clothing, footwear, glass and ceramics, consumer electronic and vehicles.

Use the search option of My Trade Assistant to find the exact information on duties and tariffs for your specific product, taking into consideration its country of origin and destination. If in doubt, contact your customs authorities.

Rules of origin

In order to qualify for preferential treatment, your product will need to satisfy the rules of origin under the agreement. Please check the interactive “Rules of Origin Self Assessment tool (ROSA)” in My Trade Assistant to assess whether your product fulfils the rules of origin and find out how to prepare the correct documents. The protocol on Rules of Origin was amended in January 2020 and entered into force in March 2020.

ESA countries currently apply the updated rules of origin protocol, including provisions for cumulation with neighbouring countries under certain conditions.

Products must meet EPA rules of origin to qualify for preferential treatment; use My Trade Assistant and the ROSA tool for guidance.

Product requirements

Technical rules and requirements

Learn about the technical requirements, rules and procedures that goods have to meet in order to be imported in the European Union.
Search for the specific rules and regulations applicable to your product and its country of origin in the My Trade Assistant database.

Health and safety requirements SPS

Learn about the general health, safety, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards that goods have to meet in order to be imported into the European Union.
Search for the health, safety and SPS rules applicable to your product and its country of origin in the My Trade Assistant database.

Custom clearance documents and procedures

Proofs of origin

To become an approved exporter, you must be able to prove to your customs authorities the originating status of your products, as well as any other requirements they may impose.

The customs authorities can withdraw your approved exporter status in case of misuse. To find out more about the procedures, contact your customs authorities.

To qualify for preferential duty rates, products originating in ESA countries must be accompanied by a proof of origin. Proof of origin remains valid for 10 months. This can be either:

a Movement Certificate EUR.1 - issued by the customs authorities of the exporting country. The exporter (or authorised representative) applying for a certificate must be prepared to submit documents proving the originating status of the products concerned on request and fulfill the other requirements of the rules of origin Protocol.
an invoice declaration – issued by any exporter, for consignments valued 6,000 EUR or less, or by approved exporters, for consignments of any value. When filling in an invoice declaration, you should be prepared to submit documents proving the originating status of your products and fulfil the other requirements of the Protocol on rules of origin.

Investment

Find specific information about investments from abroad into the EU
Find general information to enable your investment abroad

Other areas

Competition

Since 2014, the EU has stopped export subsidies on all products exported to EPA countries.
The EU has minimised measures with production and trade- distorting
If local industry is threatened because of import surges from Europe, the EPA allows measures to be triggered to protect industrial sectors and infant industry.

Sustainable development

The EU-ESA EPA is explicitly based on the "essential and fundamental" elements set out in the Samoa Agreement, i.e. human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law, and good governance.

The "non-execution clause" means that “appropriate measures” (as set out under the Samoa Agreement) can be taken if any party fails to fulfil its obligations in respect of the essential elements. This may include the suspension of trade benefits.
The joint EPA institutions are tasked with the function of monitoring and assessing the impact of the implementation of the EPA on the sustainable development of the Parties.

Regional integration

The EPA furthers ESA countries' preparedness for implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) under the African Union, as a building block for regional economic integration.

Development cooperation, capacity-building and technical assistance

The EU provides support through existing instruments.
The EU has agreed to provide financial assistance for setting up an EPA Coordination mechanism to ensure effective negotiation support for the five ESA countries. It ensures appropriate coordination and technical support, enabling them to effectively engage in the negotiation process.

Useful links and documents

My Trade Assistant – everything you need to know for your specific exports/imports from/to the EU
See the Full text of the EU – ESA EPA