February 8, 2001
Agence Europe

Countries suppliers of bananas are against the new import regime the Union has provided itself with in view of putting an end to a dispute that has lasted too long, said the Commission representative in Geneva, Carlo Trojan, at the latest meeting of the dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"We at least have a consensus there: no one is happy", he added. Mr. Trojan announced to his 140 counterparts the adoption and the imminent publication in the Official Journal (see OJ N. L/31) of the new rules adopted on 29 January, providing for a two-tier reform, initially based on implementing a "1st come, 1st served" quota management mechanism, until the advent of the exclusively tariff system in 2006. As the countries concerned have not managed to agree on a solution (there, he said, lies the root of the problem), the one decided on on 29 January presents, he says, the threefold advantage of being compatible with international law, non-discriminatory, transparent and direct.

An opinion that nobody around the table shared. Ecuador, whose first reaction was rather favourable, joined in the criticisms, saying it had "many doubts that the EC has not yet dissipated". The Union is still far from having respected its obligations, said its ambassador to Geneva.

His counterpart from Honduras, who was deeply discontent, categorically rejected a reform that he felt was unlawful, discriminatory regarding the origin of the bananas, and one that would bring ruin and disaster to countries highly dependent on banana production, far worse than the system it was meant to improve upon.

This solution is not compatible with WTO rules, which are moreover unilaterally imposed, added the Ambassador for Guatemala.

The participants from Panama spoke in the same vein, saying they regretted the absence of any echo to their many protests. On other occasions, they threatened to resort to the dispute settlement procedure.

Costa Rica believed the new system would penalise the most effective producers even more than the previous system.

Colombia, for its part, apprehends a social and economic ricochet, as well as the impact on the price of bananas, and promises to verify the legality of the high customs duties intended to procure a price advantage for ACP bananas (300 euros a tonne in the context of the C quota). This system is at any rate discriminatory, mainly to the detriment of the countries that have limited logistic capacities, said its ambassador.

The Jamaicans for their part fear that the Union is no longer able to respect its commitment to maintain the crucial outlet that its market represents for ACP bananas, with all the economic and social consequences that this would imply.

The interests of the most vulnerable economies deserve greater consideration, as the loss of the European outlet would be a disaster for these countries, added the representative of Santa Lucia, who also spoke on behalf of the Dominican Republic.

The envoy from Washington mainly stressed the absence of any transatlantic agreement on the question.

We recall that the system of quota management based on the principle of "first come first served" must enter into force on 1 April this year. It is, however, foreseen that the European Commission will postpone this deadline until 1 July, at the latest, "if necessary."