Brussels, 18/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - The suggestion mooted by Pascal Lamy, World Trade Organisation director general, of reducing the banana import duty charges by the EU as a basis for negotiations under the Doha Development Round (see EUROPE 9706), has caused outrage and concern among the group of 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific states connected to the EU through the Cotonou Agreement.
For good reason. The ACP regrets that when drawing up his 'good offices' compromise, Pascal Lamy did not consult the ACP banana growers and the deal would damage the trade preferences awarded to ACP banana growers (under the EU banana import system that came into force in January 2006, the ACPs have a total of 775,000 tonnes of bananas a year that they can export to the EU duty-free) compared with the so-called 'dollar banana' growers (in Latin America), which have to pay import duty of €176 a tonne (to be reduced to €116 a tonne by 2015 under Pascal Lamy's compromise).
In a press release issued on 17 July 2008, the ACP group warns of the potentially devastating consequences of such a move for the ACP banana growers and calls for a fair deal for all.
The ACP states believe that by introducing an unacceptable erosion in banana import duties, such a deal would irreversibly and immediately deal a death blow to banana growers in ACP states and provide greater and abusive benefit to banana producing countries in Latin America, which already supply 80% of the EU's bananas to the detriment of ACP producers and banana growers in the ultraperipheral regions of the EU.
The ACP explains that if the envisaged reduction were applied in the current format, it would be a death blow to the banana industry of the ACP countries, having a damaging impact on their economies in that bananas are one of their main vectors of development and a powerful regional integration tool and way of tackling poverty. In the current circumstances, such an agreement would ruin any chance of ACP countries actively participating in the multilateral trade system in the way they are strongly advised to do by multinational financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, explains an ACP press release.
The ACP group argues that in its current format, such a measure would only challenge and empty of substance the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) currently being negotiated between the EU and ACP regions, while at the same time leading ACP states to question the aims of the Doha round. The ACP countries also believe that over and above the purely legal consideration, it is necessary to seek a fair deal that takes account of the interests of all parties. (A.N. transl fl)