Banana war
The banana war (Engl. Banana was ) even banana dispute referred to a dispute between was USA and the European Union concerning the banana market .
course
On July 1, 1993, the European Union, then still the EC Agricultural Council, issued the EU banana market regulation .
This regulation was drafted by the EU to protect European producers and the former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific ( ACP countries ) from cheap bananas from Latin America. It regulated customs duties and import volumes.
As a result, the US groups Chiquita Brands International and Dole Food Company suffered a loss of income. They approached the US government because they saw the EU regulation as the cause of an annual loss of US $ 520 million in unachievable sales in the EU. As a result, the USA and Central American countries filed a lawsuit against the EU banana market organization before the World Trade Organization (WTO).
An agreement was reached on April 11, 2001. According to this agreement, the import volumes are to be determined by a "historical reference period" of the period from 1994 to 1996 and the low-tariff import quota for bananas from the ACP countries is to be reduced by 100,000 tonnes. In compensation, the punitive tariffs levied by the USA against the EU amounting to 191 million dollars annually will be lifted.
Since January 1, 2006, the EU has generally added 176 euros per tonne to banana imports. The ACP countries are guaranteed the duty-free import of bananas into the EU in certain quantities. Following a complaint by Ecuador to the WTO, which sees itself disadvantaged by this regulation, there are now fears that there may be another “ trade war ” between the US-dominated states of Latin America and the European Union.
settlement
On December 15, 2009, representatives of the EU, the United States and several Latin American countries reached an agreement that ended the banana war. The import duties levied by the EU will be gradually reduced from 176 euros to 114 euros per ton by 2017. Furthermore, the EU undertakes to support the ACP countries with up to 200 million euros. After the legal regulations in the EU and the respective national parliaments had been agreed, the agreement came into force in 2012.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Since 1993 the EU and the USA have been fighting over bananas, import restrictions and punitive tariffs. Retrieved July 7, 2019 .
- ↑ The banana dispute between the USA and the EU is resolved. Retrieved June 28, 2019 .
- ↑ FAZ.net: Agreement in the banana dispute , December 16, 2009
- ↑ After two decades: EU and South America end “banana dispute”. Retrieved June 27, 2019 .