WTO proposal to end EU banana dispute gains support

(GENEVA) - A group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries have accepted a new tariff level proposed by the WTO to end a dispute over banana imports in the European Union, but want a longer period of time to apply changes, an African official said Thursday.

Latin American banana producers have successfully challenged the EU's banana import regime before the World Trade Organization on the grounds that it discriminates against them in favour of ACP countries -- mainly former colonies of European powers.

ACP bananas enter the EU tariff-free whereas Latin American bananas are levied at 176 euros per tonne currently.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy's compromise offer is that the EU would gradually reduce its import tariff for Latin American bananas to 116 euros (185 dollars) per tonne by 2015.

Ivory Coast's ambassador to the WTO, Guy Alain Emmanuel Gauze, said ACP countries had accepted the tariff level but wanted it to be introduced from 2020 instead of 2015.

"We have made a counter offer this morning to the Latin Americans and Pascal Lamy. We are waiting for a reply from them," he said.

The ambassador of Honduras, representing Latin American countries, said this week that they were holding out for an EU tariff of 76 euros, or alternatively 109 dollars with a quota of 200,000 tonnes of bananas.

They are also outraged at Lamy's proposed "peace clause," under which in effect the Latin American countries would promise not to reopen the case in return for the lower tariff.

"They have not seemed very enthusiastic," said Gauze.

Both ACP countries and Latin American producers had warned that the whole Doha Round of WTO talks could be scuppered if a solution is not found.