WTO rules against EU bananas tariff

The World Trade Organisation ruled yesterday that a new European Union tariff on imported bananas is illegal, siding with eight Latin American countries who said Brussels’ proposal would seriously limit their ability to export the fruit.

A WTO arbitration body backed a claim by the Latin American countries - including Brazil and Colombia – who said that a reduced EU tariff of 187 euros per ton fails to comply with global trade rules. The WTO ruled in August against an earlier EU proposal of €230 per tonne, which the countries claimed would have had a “devastating effect” on the development of their economies.

The report concluded that new tariff “would not result in at least maintaining total market access” for Latin American exporters and queried Brussels’ methodology for arriving at the tariff figure.

“Today’s condemnation, like the first one, is unambiguous,” Norman Harris, Panama’s ambassador to the WTO, said. “The arbitrator once again found that the (EU’s) huge tariff increase is squarely in violation of its commitment” to provide market access for Latin American bananas.