Lome Convention


Lome Convention

A former agreement between the European Community and 71 developing countries allowing for the duty-free export of most goods to Europe, provided they did not compete with European goods. It also increased foreign aid to the developing countries. Most developing participants were former British, Belgian, Dutch or French colonies. The Lome Convention came into effect in 1976 and was renegotiated a number of times before the World Trade Organization ruled it anti-competitive in 1995. In 2000, it was replaced by the Cotonou Agreement.