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A Case Study
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Uruguay Round
Lome Conv.
Protectionism
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Lome Convention

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The Lome Convention signed in the capital of Togo, Lome, in 1975 is a series of agreements made between the European Union and 71 LDCs in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (the so called ACP states) about trade relationships between the signatories of the convention.

Many of the European Union countries had been the former colonial occupiers of the LDCs. The United Kingdom had been the colonial power occupying Zambia. Political independence gave the LDCs economic independence. Many of the LDCs relied heavily on the markets in Europe for their exports. During the 1960s and 1970s the European nations were looking to increase economic integration within Europe. This involved imposing protectionist barriers to those countries outside Europe.

The countries of the European Community (later to become the European Union) negotiated individual trade agreements giving their former colonies some export concessions. These bilateral agreements were eventually replaced by the Lomé Convention, that attempted to formalise the trading relationship between the members of the European Union Trading Bloc and the LDCs.

Under the Lome Convention all ACP industrial exports and most agricultural exports are free from import duties. Certain financial and technical aid was also agreed upon and the European Development Fund was set up to administer foreign aid to the ACP countries.

Since it started the convention has made four agreements. The most recent Lome IV agreement signed in 1990 for ten years improved access to European markets for some agricultural goods as well as providing foreign aid through the European Development Fund and loans through the European Investment Bank. Like the arrangement with the IMF and the World Bank this agreement linked financial assistance with broad structural adjustment programmes.

Next issue - Protectionist Policies of Zambia >>

Related Glossary Items:
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
European Investment Bank
Trading Bloc
Protectionism
World Bank
IMF

Related Issues:
The World Trade Organisation
Protectionist Policies of Zambia
Uruguay Round
Zambia's Trade Policy

Related Theories:
Protection:
The Imposition of Quotas
The Imposition of Tariffs and Welfare Loss
The Benefits of Trade
The Formation of Trading Blocs