Chiquita, one of the world's largest international marketers, producers and distributors of bananas has reacted angrily to the proposed 'first come, first serve' tariff that was recently proposed by the European commission in an attempt to end the long running banana dispute. A statement issued by Steven G. Warshaw, president and chief operating officer of Chiquita Brands International, said: "The European Commission's 'first come, first serve' proposal does not conform with international trade law and therefore cannot be a legal basis to end the banana trade dispute. The proposal - which would impose a 'simultaneous examination' licensing system similar to a license - would perpetuate, and indeed accentuate, the discrimination existing in the current regime." He added that several other countries ranging from the US to Latin American countries and certain European member states had also voiced opposition. By contrast, the president of Dole Food Company David DeLorenzo endorsed the proposal. "Dole's position is, and always has been, to achieve an open market with free competition for the banana industry," he said. "Dole believes that the EU Commission's first come, first serve proposal achieves a non-discriminatory system for the importation of Latin American bananas to the EU, and, at the same time, the EU Commission's proposal protects imports from African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries."

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