The European Union has moved to end the lengthy trade dispute with Latin American exporters and other nations over banana import tariffs by reaching an agreement with all parties today.
Sources close to the deal told Reuters that a final agreement could be signed on Tuesday (15 December) at the trade meeting, which is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland.
'Everybody is finally on board and an initialling of the deal is scheduled for Tuesday,' one diplomat told the news agency.
The long-running trade dispute, dubbed the 'banana wars', surrounds the supposed preferential treatment of African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) banana exporters, many of whom enjoy tariff-free entry to the EU as former colonies some European nations.
Latin American countries have long claimed that these regulations, which see their banana exporters pay €176 per tonne for entry to EU markets, are unfair - a claim backed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Under the new deal, the duties on bananas would fall to €114 per tonne by 2016, with an initial cut to €148 per tonne. Tariffs will also be slashed on other, smaller producers such as the Philippines and Thailand. In return, Latin American banana producing nations are expected to drop challenges to the EU at the WTO.
One of the sticking points to the deal has been the level of compensation the EU will offer ACP countries, who claim that they will suffer from the loss of their preferential treatment, with a level of around €200m said to be agreed, diplomats told Reuters.
The US is also involved in the talks as, while it does not export bananas directly, several of its largest distributors and processors are based in Latin America.
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