|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TRADE-EU:
New Banana Battle
Looms
Stefania
Bianchi
BRUSSELS, (IPS) - The
European Union says that
although it ”regrets” the
decision of Latin American
banana producers to challenge
its proposed new tariff, it will
defend its proposals.
Latin American banana producers
lodged a challenge against the
European Union (EU) at the World
Trade Organisation (WTO)
Wednesday (Mar. 30), over the
bloc's planned new import
tariffs on bananas.
Ecuador, the world's biggest
banana producer, Costa Rica,
Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras
and Panama called on the WTO to
arbitrate in the dispute amid
fears that the EU's proposed
replacement of its controversial
quota system next year will be
discriminatory against Latin
American banana producers.
”While the EU regrets the
decision of these WTO members to
request arbitration, it will
defend its proposal before the
arbitrator and remains open for
constructive engagement with
interested WTO members,” the
European Commission, the
executive arm of the EU, said in
a statement Thursday.
The Commission formally notified
the Geneva-based global trade
body in January that it intends
to impose a blanket 230 euro
(297 dollars) a tonne levy on
banana imports to replace its
import quota system in January
2006.
The quota system, which offers
privileged access to European
markets for bananas produced in
Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
countries, was ruled illegal by
the WTO in 2000.
Under the new regime, Latin
American countries would no
longer be limited by quotas but
would pay higher duties from
January. The current duty is 75
euros (97 dollars) a tonne.
The EU says the new tariff aims
to ”strike a balance” between
the demands of large-scale
growers in Latin America and the
interests of traditional banana
suppliers in ACP countries.
The Commission said the figure
had been carefully calculated.
”The EU banana import regime is
changing but the level of
protection is not increasing.
The proposed new tariff is based
on a methodology to calculate
tariff equivalents enshrined in
the WTO texts and on objective
data,” Mariann Fischer Boel, EU
commissioner for agriculture and
rural development said
Wednesday.
”I believe this figure and
methodology has allowed us to
square the circle and safeguard
the sometimes conflicting
interests of our consumers,
producers and trading partners,”
she added.
According to the EU, ACP
countries currently have a 20
percent share of the EU banana
market. EU producers -- mainly
Spain - have 20 percent, while
Latin American producers
dominate the market with 60
percent.
The new EU regime is designed to
help producers in former
European colonies in the ACP
states which have a preferential
trade agreement with the EU to
compete with larger growers in
Latin America, many of which are
controlled by U.S.-based
multinational companies.
Under the new regime, ACP
producers will continue to
export bananas duty free. But
they see the European
Commission's planned tariff
levels as too low. These
producers would like to see a
duty as high as 300 euros (390
dollars) a tonne on the cheaper
Latin American bananas to stop
them flooding the lucrative EU
market.
Latin American countries fear
that they would have no chance
of maintaining their market
share in the EU with the planned
levy weighing on the prices of
their bananas. The Latin
American countries have been
considering action for several
months.
During a summit in Ecuador in
January, five Latin American
presidents urged the EU to open
immediate negotiations on the
issue, warning that the planned
changes to the EU banana regime
would violate the EU's
obligations before the WTO.
Mentor Villagomez, the
Ecuadorian ambassador in
Brussels told IPS that ”the
European Union's announcement on
tariffs has left us no other
option but to start a request
for arbitration at the WTO.”
Euroban (the European Banana
Action Network), which brings
together trade unions,
environment, development
non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and fair trade
organisations, warned Thursday
that the proposed EU regime
could have serious social and
environmental consequences in
Latin American countries.
”Any new European import regime
based solely on tariffs will not
only cause severe social and
environmental damage in Latin
America, which will face greatly
increased tariffs, but also in
the Caribbean, which has so far
had preferential access to EU
markets under the quota system
and where the end of the quota
could well deliver a death-blow
to the industry,” the group said
in a statement.
The WTO arbitrator must be
appointed within 30 days and
will then have 90 days to make a
decision. If the EU tariff is
judged to be excessive, Brussels
will be forced to propose
another amount.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
