Brussels, 03/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament is of the opinion that Union and ACP producers “could be significantly affected by the agreements on the trade in bananas”. It therefore calls upon the Commission to “increase aid to producers from the ACP countries and the European Union and extend this until 2020 if necessary”, according to a resolution adopted on Thursday 3 February on the conclusion of agreements on bananas. It is worth noting that on 15 December 2009, the EU, a group of Latin American countries and the United States reached an agreement on customs duties applied by the European Union to imports of bananas, thereby putting an end to one of the longest and most virulent disputes in the recent history of the multilateral trade system (EUROPE 10041).
The EP is in critical mood, but nonetheless approved, on Thursday 3 February, the texts of these agreements on bananas, in its adoption of two reports by Francesca Balzani (one on the decision regarding the conclusion of these agreements and the other on the new regulation concerning the customs duty applicable to bananas). The EP takes the view that the agreement concluded “does not make it entirely possible to reconcile the legitimate interests of all parties”. The Commission is called upon to present, as soon as possible, an assessment of the impact of the agreement on trade in bananas for banana producers in developing countries and the extremely-remote regions of Europe up to 2020.
Readers may remember that under the agreement, the EU will progressively cut its customs duty on exports of bananas from Latin America, from the current level of €176/tonne to €114/tonne by 2017, with the rate of €114/tonne constituting the end rate. A financial package worth €119 million is earmarked for aid to banana exporters from the ACP countries, known by the name of Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM). (L.C./transl.fl)