Brussels, 31/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - In the absence of agreement between the parties in the consultation procedure, the banana-producing countries of Latin America on Wednesday requested that the WTO arbitrate in their dispute with the EU on bananas. Ecuador together with the five other countries involved (Costa Rica, Columbia, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama) are asking the WTO to note that the tariff of 230 EUR per tonne offered by the EU will not allow them to maintain their share of the European market. The EU has undertaken to replace its system of import tariff quotas for banana imports with a tariff-only system by 1 January 2006 at the latest.
The EU officially notified the 230 EUR tariff to the WTO on 1 February. According to the procedure agreed at the WTO's Doha ministerial conference in November 2001 in annex to a decision on the waiver granted to the Union for the preferential treatment it grants to ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries, the Latin American countries had 60 days to lodge a complaint. The annex to the WTO decision on the waiver states that “any interested party may request arbitration”. “The arbitrator shall be appointed within 10 days, following the request subject to agreement between the two parties, failing which the arbitrator shall be appointed by the Director-General of the WTO, following consultations with the parties, within 30 days of the arbitration request. The mandate of the arbitrator shall be to determine, within 90 days of his appointment, whether the envisaged rebinding of the EC tariff on bananas would result in at least maintaining total market access for MFN (Most Favoured Nation) banana suppliers.”“If the arbitrator determines that the rebinding would not result in at least maintaining total market access for MFN suppliers, the EC shall rectify the matter. Within 10 days of the notification of the arbitration award to the General Council (of the WTO), the EC will enter into consultations with those interested parties that requested the arbitration. In the absence of a mutually satisfactory solution, the same arbitrator will be asked to determine, within 30 days of the new arbitration request, whether the EC has rectified the matter. The second arbitration award will be notified to the General Council. If the EC has failed to rectify the matter, this waiver shall cease to apply to bananas upon entry into force of the new EC tariff regime.” The text agreed at the WTO also specifies that negotiations and arbitration on bananas must be completed before the EU's new tariff-only regime enters into force on 1 January 2006.
EU regrets Latin American decision
In a statement published on Thursday, the European Commission said that the EU “regrets” the decision taken by the producer countries of Latin America, that it would defend its position before arbitration and that it remained “open for constructive engagement with interested WTO members”.
Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel feels that with its offer the Commission is committing itself to compliance with the terms of the agreement on bananas approved in Doha in 2001. “The EU banana import regime is changing but the level of protection is not increasing”, she promised in response to the position of the Latin American producer countries who are opposed to customs duties higher than 75 EUR per tonne.