EU ready to yield on banana trade dispute

AFP, July, 2008

BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Commission said Wednesday it was ready to make concessions in a long-running trade dispute with Latin America over bananas in order to advance struggling WTO negotiations.

The commission said it was prepared to accept a settlement proposed by WTO chief Pascal Lamy that calls for Europe to gradually reduce its import tariff to 116 euros (185 dollars) per tonne by 2015 from 176 euros currently.

Latin American banana producers have successfully challenged the EU's banana import regime before the World Trade Organisation on the grounds that it discriminates against them in favour of poor African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

ACP banana producers, many of which are former European colonies, have long benefited from preferential market access under the European Union's import regime, much to the concern of their Latin American rivals.

Under Lamy's proposals, Latin American countries would agree to a "peace ...