Banana row threatens to derail WTO talks

GENEVA, July 24 (Chinese media) -- A long-running row over bananas continued to

fester Thursday as ministers from three dozen major players in the World Trade

Organization (WTO) were seeking a breakthrough in the Doha Round of global trade

talks here.

The dispute was centered on the European Union (EU) import rules on

bananas, involving two groups of developing countries, namely the African,

Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the Latin American nations.

In the past decades, ACP countries have been given duty-free access to the

EU markets when it comes to a wide range of products, including bananas.

However, Latin American countries have not enjoyed the unilateral

preferential treatment, and they alleged that the discriminatory practice has

put their bananas at a disadvantage on the EU markets when competing with their

ACP peers.

After successfully challenging the EU's banana import regime within the WTO

framework several times, the Latin American countries now demand the EU's

complete abandonment of the rule.

With hopes for resolving the dispute before the WTO ministerial talks, WTO

Director-General Pascal Lamy last week presented a compromise offer, under which

Brussels would gradually reduce its import tariff on bananas to 116 euros per

ton by 2015 from the current 176 euros.

It also contained a "peace clause," committing the Latin American countries

to ending the legal challenges in exchange for lower tariffs.

Though EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson accepted the proposal, not

everyone was happy with it.

Adopting a stand of either taking the proposal or leaving it, Mandelson had

warned that if some others wanted to reject it, the nthey had to take the

responsibility for the failure of the whole Doha Round talks.

No deal on bananas, and there would be no deal on Doha Round, Mandelson

said.

Following intensive negotiations among relevant parties in the first four

days this week, diplomats said little progress had been made.

Dacio Castillo, the ambassador of Honduras, said the Latin American

countries were holding out for an EU tariff on their bananas of 76 euros with a

quota of 200,000 tons.

They were also outraged at Lamy's proposed "peace clause."

"To say this is 'take it or leave it' means you are not negotiating, and

that is very dangerous when you are trying to reach an agreement," said Ronald

Saborio, Costa Rica's ambassador to the WTO.

"The Latin Americans will not leave here empty-handed," Saborio said.

Gerhard Otmar Hiwat, the ambassador of Surinam at the EU, warned the whole

Doha Round could fail if a solution is not found.

"If it is necessary to block the Doha negotiations, we will do it," said

Hiwat.

With just one day left for further discussion according to the schedule,

fears were growing that the Doha Round may become a victim of the banana row.

After Thursday's meeting, Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told

reporters that the talks had not broken up so far but time was running out.

"Tomorrow is the day in which we must know whether it is possible or not

(to reach an agreement). Maybe we cannot finish everything but you must have an

idea on whether it is possible or not," he said.