EU-DIGEST

Spain rejects banana deal between EU, Latin America

Spain has rejected the agreement reached by the European Union (EU) and Latin American banana producers on reducing EU import duty on the fruit. According to reports from Geneva, Spanish Rural Environment Minister Josep Puxeu told reporters Monday that Spain would support high duty on Latin American bananas for "as long as possible." According to the compromise reached on Sunday between negotiators from both regions, the EU would reduce the duty per ton on Latin American banana from the current 176 euros (about 276U.S. dollars) to 114 euros (179 dollars) in 2016.

Labels: Bananas, EU, Spain, World Trade

EU: Banana producers not happy with EPA

The regional banana marketing company says Caribbean banana farmers have gotten a raw deal in the recently signed trade deal with the European Union (EU). The Windward Islands Banana Development and Exporting Company (WIBDECO), said the Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU will not solve the problems of the Windward Islands banana industry. Chief Executive Officer Bernard Cornibert said they were left holding the short end of the stick and that the deal will not come anywhere close to resolving the problems that the industry has faced over the years. The EPA provides for duty free and quota free entry of Caribbean bananas into the EU. However Cornibert said the duty free entry already exists and it is the quota free component that threatens the survival of the industry.

Labels: Bananas, EPA, EU

Colombia joins challenge of EU banana regime

The WTO has consistently ruled against how the EU sets tariffs for bananas, forcing the 27-nation bloc to overhaul a system that grants preferential conditions for producers from African and Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, which are mainly former British and French colonies.

Latin American producers and banana companies based in the United States have long complained about the preference. The U.S., in 1999, and Ecuador a year later both won the right to impose trade sanctions on European goods after the WTO found the EU's rules to be illegal.

Labels: Bananas, EU, Trade