Lomé Versus Free Trade Agreements: The Dilemma Facing the ACP Countries

McQueen, Matthew

doi:10.1111/1467-9701.00140

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…This much is not in doubt. But what remains underexplored in these accounts in the extent to which appeals to WTO compliance as an external driver of trade reform ultimately proved to be self-defeating, by limiting the EU's room for manoeuvre in dealing with the scepticism widespread among the ACP about the prospect of reciprocal free trade (McQueen 1998). In order to understand why this was the case, we need to consider the peculiar way in which SDT was accommodated within the GATT -and therefore the WTOand how this ultimately served to limit the scope for crafting trade and development cooperation agreements that at the same time conformed to other WTO rules.…”

Section: The Rise and Fall Of Lomémentioning

confidence: 99%

Trading in development: norms and institutions in the making/unmaking of European Union–African, Caribbean and Pacific trade and development cooperation

Heron

2014

Contemporary Politics

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This paper offers a contribution to recent debates on European Union (EU) external trade and development policy, with a specific focus on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries. The question asked is why the EU encountered such difficulties in the attempt to translate its normative preferences for freer trade and closer economic integration into a series of binding agreements? Drawing on both economic constructivist and historical institutionalist insights, it is argued that the case for reform initially rested on a strong convergence between institutions and ideas, enabling the EU to discursively present desired policy reforms as necessary to satisfy World Trade Organisation trade rules. However, in due course, the institutional dynamics behind the latter began to diverge from the EU's policy preferences and blunt its norm-based argument -thus creating the space for transnational coalitions to, first, question and, ultimately, undermine aspects the EU's trade and development prospectus for the ACP.

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Section: The Rise and Fall Of Lomémentioning

confidence: 99%

Trading in development: norms and institutions in the making/unmaking of European Union–African, Caribbean and Pacific trade and development cooperation

Heron

2014

Contemporary Politics

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“…In addition, in the 1970s, Lomé I introduced the STABEX and SYSMIN schemes, which were designed as special funds to promote earning stability in the ACP countries' agricultural and mining exports, respectively. These schemes provided compensatory finance to the ACP countries in the case of adverse fluctuations in the price of their major agricultural and mining exports (McQueen, 1998). Additionally, preferential access based on a quota system was agreed for products such as sugar and beef, which were in competition with the European Commission's agriculture.…”

Section: Overview Of the Economic Cooperation Between The Eu And Acp Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, since Lomé I, the ACP countries have been exempted from some of the tariffs and non‐tariff barriers such as multi‐fiber agreement, as long as textile exports comply with the EU's rules of origin. The ACP countries have also been provided with concessions on some of the products covered by the CAP as well as on the rules of origin (McQueen, 1998).…”

Section: Overview Of the Economic Cooperation Between The Eu And Acp Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effectiveness of economic cooperation between the EU and the ACP countries

Evrensel

2009

Journal of International Trade Law and Policy

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PurposeSince the First Yaoundé Convention (1963‐1969), the European Union (EU) has been implementing its development policy in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the trade and financial flows between the EU and the ACP countries and attempt to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of the EU's development policy during the pre‐Cotonou era (1970‐2000).Design/methodology/approachExtensive trade, governance, and external financing data are gathered about 79 ACP countries during the period 1970‐2004. Using the index of standardized trade performance, diversification indices, and regression analysis, the effectiveness of trade preferences and financial assistance in the ACP countries is quantified.FindingsThe results indicate that the preferential trade arrangements between the EU and the ACP countries had neither substantially increased the ACP countries' exports to the EU nor diversified these countries' export structure. Additionally, even though the ACP countries received substantial external financing, these countries continued suffering from the lack of development‐enhancing political and judicial institutions. The empirical results suggest that governance characteristics such as higher corruption and lower democratic accountability have adversely affected the ACP countries' growth rates.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focuses on the effectiveness of the economic cooperation between the EU and the ACP countries during the pre‐Cotonou era. The Cotonou agreement that went into effect in 2000 has changed the EU's approach to the ACP countries significantly. However, the recent nature of this agreement imposes restrictions on data availability, which forces us to exclude the Cotonou era from most of our empirical evaluation.Practical implicationsThe empirical results of the paper demonstrate the relevance of governance‐related factors or institutions in developing countries. Neither preferential trade nor financial assistance seems to enhance the growth performance of these countries if they lack political transparency and accountability.Originality/valueThis paper provides empirical evidence that the change in the EU's approach to its economic partnership with the ACP countries is warranted. Because the empirical results suggest that the pre‐Cotonou economic cooperation between the EU and the ACP countries did not contribute to the ACP countries' economic growth, the EU's decision of shifting the focus from trade preferences to governance‐related issues in the ACP countries can be viewed as justified.

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“…The question of distance is relevant to one current debate. The EU's Cotonou Agreement with the ACP states has the goal of eventually replacing the Lom6 Conventions with a series of regional economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with groups of ACP countries (McQueen 1998). It includes, as an "essential element," the developing partners' respect for human rights and democracy, as well as injunctions to manage their economies properly (Council of the European Union 1998).…”

Section: Box 73 Democracy In Mercosurmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Integration and Development

Cooper,

Schiff,

Winters

2003

Foreign Affairs

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A co-publication of the World Bank and Oxford University Press. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply on the part of the World Bank any judgment of the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this work is copyrighted. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or inclusion in any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the World Bank. The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission promptly.

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Lomé Versus Free Trade Agreements: The Dilemma Facing the ACP Countries

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

Trading in development: norms and institutions in the making/unmaking of European Union–African, Caribbean and Pacific trade and development cooperation

Trading in development: norms and institutions in the making/unmaking of European Union–African, Caribbean and Pacific trade and development cooperation

Effectiveness of economic cooperation between the EU and the ACP countries

Regional Integration and Development

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