Geneva, 02/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, representing the EU at the seventh ministerial conference of the WTO (30 November-2 December) since the departure of former Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton on Monday evening, told the press on Wednesday 2 December that the EU, the banana-producing Latin American countries (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela) and the countries of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) are moving towards a definitive agreement on bananas, which will put an end to a decade-old conflict. Ms Fischer Boel said she was "optimistic" that an agreement could be concluded "by the end of the week". "We now have an agreement between the countries of Latin America and the ACP countries. Very quickly this week, we will be able to put together a draft agreement", she explained on the sidelines of the conference. However, a definitive agreement will require the approval of the United States. "We also need the Americans. And I must say that I'm extremely pleased with the very strong commitment of Ron Kirk [the American Trade Representative: Ed]", said the Commissioner. The agreement provides for European customs duty of bananas to be reduced gradually from 176 euros/tonne currently to 114 euros by 2017. In exchange, the Latin American countries will agree to drop the proceedings against the EU before the WTO. The European Commission will also undertake to guarantee aid to the banana-producing ACP countries, to compensate for their loss of competition. The sum total of the envelope could be as high as 200 million euros, compared to the 190 million initially proposed by the EU. It is also worth noting that the agreement between the EU, the Latin American countries and the ACP countries also covers tropical products and the removal of preferences, issues suspended in the framework of Doha negotiations. (E.H./trans.fl)