EU banana production in the French Antilles and Spanish Canary Islands looks set to be protected by a safeguard clause. EU international development ministers reached the agreement this week that would see imports from ACP countries paying a tariff if they increase by more than 25 per cent on the average of the last three years (2004-06). The tariff they would be liable for would be at the same level of €176 a tonne that third country imports (known as dollar bananas) now face.
“It should not be seen as a protectionist system but rather a safeguard for the interests of EU growers,” said Milagros Hernando, the Spanish minister who led the negotiations.
At the other end of the spectrum, the UK, Danish and Swedish delegations were extremely critical of the mechanism.
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