Ecuador to Protest before WTO
Ecuador will request a World Trade Organization consultation process in the wake of the failure of banana negotiations with the European Union, Minister of Agriculture Jorge Illingworth said.

We made a very big effort during the WTO meeting in Hong Kong, and Europeans insisted on imposing a 176-euro tariff (212 dollars) for every tone of Latin American banana entering the market, said Illingworth.

He reiterated there is no willingness to come to an agreement and all licences and quotas will be also dropped as of January.

Thats´ why, the Quito government asked lawyers to begin arrangements to file a complaint and demand a WTO arbitration.

The minister said the European response so far has been to wait for two or three months to verify whether the imposed tariff adversely affects Latin American banana exporting countries.

He said there is no comparison between the 75 euros currently paid for each tone of banana and the 212 dollars to be charged as of January 1st.

Regarding possible losses in Ecuador, he referred to the necessity to increase sales, as Ecuadorian banana remains as the most competitive.

Illingworth admitted there is disagreement among Latin American banana exporting countries and pleaded for unity to achieve success, as Europeans may benefit from these weaknesses.

He reiterated one cannot agree with the tariff imposed on Latin America, as duty-free bananas from Africa-Caribbean-Pacific can enter the European market.