The "Lomé Agreement" accelerates North-South cooperation [Abstract] On February 28, 1975, 46 developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific and 9 countries in the European Economic Community signed an agreement called the "European Economic Community" in Lome, the capital of Togo.

Economic Community------Lomé Agreement for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Region (Countries).

In the past 30 years, the Lomé Agreement has been revised and extended, but its basic goal of "aid-----trade" has remained unchanged.

This has had a significant and far-reaching impact on the world's political and economic order, North-South relations, and international trade rules.

After the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the most representative trade dispute handled was the "banana war" between the European Union and the United States.

The trigger for this trade war was the Lomé Agreement.

A comprehensive review of the development of the Lomé Agreement shows the vitality of the mutually beneficial cooperative relationship between North and South.

On February 28, 1975, 46 developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific and 9 countries in the European Economic Community signed the "European Economic Community------" in Lome, the capital of Togo.

Lomé Agreement for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

In the past 30 years, the Lomé Agreement has been revised and extended, but its basic goal of "aid--trade" has remained unchanged.

This has had a significant and far-reaching impact on the world's political and economic order, North-South relations, and international trade rules.

Detonating the Banana War After the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the most representative trade dispute handled was the "Banana War" between the EU and the United States.

The trigger for this trade war was the Lomé Agreement.

40% of the world's banana exports come from Latin America and the Caribbean.

In Latin America, banana production is mainly carried out by workers hired by large estates, which are mostly operated by local large landowners and American multinational companies (Chiquita, etc.).

Due to the large scale of production, sufficient funds, advanced equipment, and the use of large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers, the output is high and the cost is low.

In the Caribbean, banana production is mainly carried out by independent small farmers with little capital, small scale and high cost, but only use a small amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Traditionally, small farmers sell their bananas to Geest, a multinational company from the UK, for shipment to Europe.

The EU has the world's largest banana consumer market, importing approximately 3.9 million tons of bananas each year, worth nearly US$6 billion.

According to the Lomé Agreement, the EU gives import and distribution priority to ACP countries that maintain special economic and trade relations with it.

This import distribution system greatly affects banana exports from Central and South America to the EU.

Although banana imports with preferential treatment under the Lomé Agreement only account for 2% of the European market, U.S. banana export companies have put pressure on the U.S. government in order to expand the market.

In 1993, the United States formally made relevant representations to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom refused to import bananas from Central and South America on the grounds that the European Union and the ACP signed the Lomé Agreement.

After the establishment of the WTO in 1995, the United States and Latin American countries criticized the banana trade preferences set by the United Kingdom in the Lomé Agreement through the WTO, which actually discriminated against the export of agricultural products from other countries and violated the principle of free trade.

After many battles, in 1997, the WTO ruled in favor of the United States.

After revising the relevant regulations, the EU began to implement new banana import regulations in 1999 (the so-called "fair trade" operation). However, the United States believed that the EU's new measures "replaced the problem without changing the medicine" and once again filed a lawsuit with the WTO.

The WTO once again ruled against the EU.

Under WTO authorization, the United States has imposed 100% punitive tariffs on specific EU products.

In order to avoid escalating the trade war, Europe and the United States conducted multiple rounds of consultations based on relevant WTO laws. After balancing the interests of all parties, European and American trade representatives reached an agreement in July 2001, and the nine-year banana war ended.

Come to an end.

The EU has lifted its banana discriminatory policy against Central American countries, and the United States has also given up on imposing punitive tariffs on EU goods.

Long-lasting Goals When the European Union was founded, it established "associated country" relations with some African countries.

It has signed the "Yaoundé Association Agreement" and the "Arusha Agreement" with 18 African countries including Cameroon and three East African countries (Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) to determine the cooperation framework between the two sides in trade and assistance.

The first "Lomé Agreement" was signed in Lome in February 1975. It came into effect in April 1976 and was valid for 5 years to replace the above two agreements that had expired.

The Lomé Agreement, while stipulating that the European Union provide ACP with preferential trade arrangements, also stipulated that the European Union provide ACP with financial assistance of 3.36 billion European currency units (approximately US$4.2 billion) within five years; 1979

In October 1984, December 1984, and December 1989, the Lomé Agreement was revised and renewed three times.

In June 2000, the EU and the ACP signed the fifth Lomé Agreement - the Cotonou Agreement - in Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin.