Lome IV: Dynamic or Static Improvement on the Previous conventions? The Sub-Saharan Africa Perspective

Abstract

The First Lomé Convention between the EC and the ACP countries was signed in 1975. It was followed by Lomé II and Lomé III. When Lomé III expired in 1990 it was replaced by Lomé IV. This article deals with Lomé IV, examining its main pillars and features, and its main instruments of cooperation. It also examines the new elements in Lomé IV, which can be divided into matters of improvement (trade and services, culture and regional cooperation) and matters of innovation (structural adjustment, debt, the role of the private sector, the environment, population and decentralized cooperation). Finally, it deals with the question of whether Lomé IV does not merely preserve the historic role of sub-Saharan African States as suppliers of raw material. In this context the article critically analyses the following issues: trade expansion possibilities and market access; commodity and mineral stabilization schemes; industrial development provisions; Lomé and dependency; trade in services, investment measures and intellectual property; and the compatibility of Lomé IV and African regional organizations. The conclusion sums up a number of reasons why Lomé V is inevitable on the expiry of Lomé IV. Notes, ref.