EU Revises Banana Tariff Proposal

BRUSSELS - Sep 12/05 - SNS -- The European Union (EU) revised its banana tariff proposal, recommending the tariffs be set at Euro 187 per metric ton (MT) for most favored nation (MFN) suppliers of bananas.

The new tariff is intended to replace as of 1 January 2006 the present regime based on tariff quotas for MFN – mostly Latin American – supplying countries.

The Commission's proposal also maintains an equivalent level of preference for ACP bananas through a tariff quota for 775,000 MT at zero duty. The proposed MFN tariff is designed to maintain total market access for MFN suppliers, in line with the results of the WTO arbitration, which had been established after a request of Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela.

The Commission will now engage in consultations with its Latin American partners according to the procedure set out in the Annex to the WTO waiver on the EU-ACP Partnership Agreement (Cotonou waiver) for the introduction of the tariff only regime as from 1 January 2006.

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