Latin American Nations Reject Banana Plan
Latin American banana producers on Thursday rejected a European Union plan to impose a euro230 (us$290) per ton tariff on their crops starting in 2006.

The EU announced Wednesday the new duty is meant to prevent producers in former African and Caribbean colonies from losing business to larger growers in Latin America.

It follows a World Trade Organization order for a change in banana quotas and duties. The United States had sued on behalf of U.S. companies operating in Central and South America, arguing the system was unfair.

Meeting in Panama on Thursday, representatives of Latin American producers said the new measures would undermine their economies and alleged they were contrary to the spirit of the WTO ruling.

Panama's Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a statement questioning how "promises of liberalization are defined to permit an increase in a duty instead of a reduction."

It warned that the Latin American countries would turn to the WTO to overturn the European decision, which it said "would provoke a substantial fall in exports, destabilizing the economy and the social structure of our countries."

The declaration came at the start of a meeting involving representatives of Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

The Latin American producers have been seeking a tariff of euro75 (US$95) a ton.

Currently, the former colonies supply about 20 percent of bananas for the European market while Latin American producers supply 60 percent.

Panamanian officials blame European restrictions for much of a 45 percent fall in their exports over the past 10 years, though weather and labor disputes also played a part.

Under the old rules, former colonies, mostly from the Caribbean, had almost exclusive access to the European market for their bananas, angering the South and Central American banana producers and top banana companies based in the United States.

Colombian president rejects integration of paramilitaries into army
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Thursday rejected a proposal by the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) to integrate its demobilized paramilitaries into the armed forces.

Uribe said the fact that illegal armed groups in Colombia have been involved in drug-trafficking makes it impossible for them to enter the army or police.

The AUC initiative was formally put forth Wednesday through a communique of its top leaders Salvatore Mancuso and Ernesto Baez.

The AUC is in talks with the government for the demobilization of 4,000 paramilitaries out of a total of 20,000 as of November.

The AUC, one of Colombia's largest right-wing paramilitaries, was established in the 1980s by drug traffickers and land owners to fight leftist guerrillas in areas where government troops had little control. It has been active in northern Colombia, particularly in the areas of Antioquia and Cordoba.

The AUC demobilization process will help ease the four-decade-long civil war in Colombia, which kills about 3,500 people a year.

Ecuador, Chile call for earlier founding of South American community
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Patricio Zuquilanda and his visiting Chilean counterpart, Ignacio Walker, called on Thursday for the earlier establishment of the community of South American nations.

They said in a joint communique that the community should be based on a strengthened Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and promote ties between Chile and the Andean Community (Ancom).

The ministers confirmed that talks on a free trade agreement between their countries will be held as soon as possible.

Zuquilanda also voiced his country's support for Chile to join the Andean Presidential Council as observer.

Mercosur and Ancom are two major trade blocs in South America which cover an area of 17 million square km with 350 million people. Ancom comprises Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela while Mercosur has Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay as its full members.

On Oct. 18, Mercosur and Ancom signed a trade agreement in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo to create the world's fifth largest trade bloc.