EU to appeal banana ruling

The European Commission has said it will appeal a ruling against its banana import regime made on Monday, when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) backed a complaint brought by the US.

The WTO compliance panel, which ruled on the case, said the EU had failed to implement previous rulings in the case that had harmed US trade rights as some of the biggest corporations exporting from Latin America - Dole, Del Monte and Chiquita - are US-based.

The implication of this new ruling, which comes hot on the heels of a similar decision last month by the WTO in favour of Ecuador, is that the US could be entitled to demand sanctions against Brussels.

A Commission spokeswoman told freshinfo: “We are engaged in good-faith negotiations on the future tariff for bananas with Latin American suppliers...It is through negotiation not litigation that we will find a solution satisfactory for all suppliers.”