The European Commission has lowered its proposed import duty to €199 a tonne from January next year following a WTO panel ruling that is earlier figure of €230 was discriminatory.
The commission is also still considering a duty-free import quota from suppliers in the African, Caribbean and Pacific group.
But the move is already being met with dismay in Latin America. Costa Rica’s minister of agriculture has reportedly announced that “no one” will accept the newly proposed tariff. And his opposite number in Ecuador Pablo Rizzo indicated that the Latin Americans will be seeking another round of WTO arbitration on this latest proposal.
The European Commission must now either finalise this latest proposal at an upcoming meeting this month or through written legal proceedings so there is still room for some manoeuvre.
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