Brussels, 15/12/2009 (Agence Europe) -The European Union, Latin American producer countries (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela) and other banana-producer third countries, such as the Philippines and Thailand, reached an agreement in Geneva on Monday 14 December, bringing the banana war, the world's longest running trade dispute, to an end. The agreement, submitted on Tuesday for signature by the Ambassadors of the countries affected to the WTO, provides for the phased reduction of Community customs tariffs applied to imports of bananas into the EU from countries that do not belong to the Africa, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) group from the current €176 per tonne to €114 per tonne by 2016, with the first phase set at €148 (a reduction of €28 agreed by the EU). In exchange, Latin American producer countries agree not to request further reductions and to give up their complaints to the WTO against the preferential system granted by EU member states to the ACP countries, their former colonies. Furthermore, the Commission will guarantee aid to ACP banana producers to compensate their loss of competitiveness. The amount agreed is €200 million, rather than the €190 million initially proposed by the EU. The agreement between the EU, the Latin American countries and the ACP, which requires the approval of the United States (Washington has agreed, in a compromise with the Commission to settle its dispute with the EU at the WTO), also contains a compromise on tropical and “preference erosion” products, as part of the Doha negotiations. Under this new approach, tropical products will be subject to deeper tariff cuts, while tariff cuts for “preference erosion” products of interest to ACP countries will be conducted over a relatively longer period. The agreement will be formally signed by the EU, the Latin American countries and the United States only after the Council has approved the provisional agreement. With the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament will also have to give its final assent. (E.H./transl.rt)