Brussels / Washington, 08/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - "There is still nothing official, nothing but rumours", said the European Commission's spokesperson on Friday regarding the Carrousel legislation by which the United States has proposed, since the beginning of the summer, sanctioning European industry more harshly in the framework of the dispute over bananas and hormones.
According to the Community Executive, the new carrousel system of sanctions is, by nature, contrary to the rules of the World Trade Organisation. The Carrousel, which enables Washington to change targets every six months to slap prohibitive duties on a new series of European imports, would eliminate the security and stability that are essential for operators and would continue to be harmful even for products finally withdrawn from the retaliatory list, sources in Brussels explain, recalling that the commercial value that the United States still has the right to "recuperate" through sanctions may not exceed the ceiling set at a little over $308 million by the World Trade Organisation. …/..
A 100% duty is already imposed by Washington to certain European imports, for a value of USD 191 million in the banana case (sheets, handbags, percolators, etc.) and, in that of hormones, for an additional USD 117 million (foodstuffs, such as pates, Danish ham, French mustard, fruit juice, bath salts, batteries etc.). Exasperated by the slowness of the EU response to condemnations of its legislation on bananas and hormones by the WTO arbitrators, the American authorities have adopted, under pressure from Congress, a new system whose implementation, often announced and differed, which has once more been suspended this week, following pressure from European leaders.
On the sidelines of the United Nations Millennium summit in New York, the French President Jacques Chirac and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair commented on their displeasure to President Bill Clinton. Washington, which has shown itself rather reserved since the start of this initiative - which has not prevented others from "crying wolf" during the whole summer - has not yet official reacted to these demands, noted Brussels. "I am completely hostile to these American methods which come from Congress and the are much more part of the gunboat diplomacy that 21 Century diplomacy", protested President Chirac when reaffirming the firmness of France over the issue of the banana "which, for us, is sensible". As for Tony Blair he signalled to the American leader that it would be "totally unjustified" to sanction British products.