Banana republics cut an EU deal

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Last fall, according to The Economist, Latin American countries signed an agreement with the European Union (EU), ending a two-decade-long trade war over restricted imports of bananas. When the EU was formed, it had given preferential treatment to producers of bananas in Africa, the Pacific and even the Caribbean, whilst imposing quotas and tariffs on fruit from 11 Latin American countries. The Latin American countries began to push back 20 years ago and finally succeeded.

The EU imports one third of the US$8 billion-worth of bananas exported around the world annually. Ecuador is expected to benefit and it is already Europe's biggest supplier. The Economist described this as the longest running dispute in the history of multi-national trade, a dubious distinction. Haven't Canada and the United States been arguing with the EU over exports of beef raised using implants for at least that long? BF