Banana wars’ peace soon to be signed
The longest-running trade dispute, a trans-Atlantic fight over banana import tariffs, might soon be settled. The “war” started in 1993, when the EU granted preferential access to bananas imported from former British and French colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific region (ACP). The slap in the face for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America generated a wave of loud (and successful) complaints to the World Trade Organisation that never really stopped, with the US eventually joining in. And now, finally, the EU will accept the ridiculousness of its original decision and lower the banana tariffs from non-ACP countries from €176 a tonne to €114 over the next seven years. But it will not end there: the EU will also lower tariffs for other tropical foods too. Read more: FT (subscription required)
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